Take my hand
by aewal
Summary: The story picks up after 11x24. Mostly Amelia(&Owen centric) and of course there are other characters. In which direction will Amelia & Owen's relationship go? How will Meredith handle it? And most important, how will Amelia and Owen handle it?
1. Chapter 1

First thing's first. I do not own Grey's anatomy or any characters. I just used them mixed with my imagination.

This is my first fanfic ever and it's not complete yet, so I don't now what the ending will be like, but I know in which direction I want to go. I am not a native speaker so please excuse my grammar mistakes. Well, I don't know what else to say... Enjoy! :)

Amelia came out of the bedroom with a little smile on her face. She heard Derek's voice again and that made her feel so happy because for a minute he was still there, he was still alive, he was still her annoying, yet charming brother. For the first time after her big brother died she felt like everything is going to be ok. No matter how stupid and pathetic it sounded, Amelia kind of felt better knowing that her brother died happy and in love. Of course she was still sad and grieving but with the message she listened to, she got some kind of a closure for now.

To be honest, she didn't just feel happy about that message, she was glad that Owen was there with her. As much as she hated to admit it to herself, she needed someone. And he was that someone who helped her. She wasn't sure if this was true love or a crush or some weird relationship she was pretty sure she was best at, but she knew that this is something more than a friendship or a weird boss-employee relationship. Suddenly Amelia felt bad for just leaving him and not even thanking him for everything he has done for her in the past few weeks. It was kind of uncomfortable for her to walk back to the bedroom because Owen knew so much about her. She felt so exposed and at that time she wasn't sure if that is a good thing or not. But she remembered that talk she had with Derek about how they were the runners in their family. They always ran away from everything that scared them but in the end, Derek didn't. And she isn't going to run anymore. _Walk in Amelia. For Derek._

Amelia walked back into the bedroom. Owen was just about to leave it and they almost bumped into each other. She immediately felt her heart rate getting higher only by seeing him.

"Hey, you forgot the phone, I was just about to …"

"I didn't come for phone." Amelia interrupted him quickly.

"Oh." Owen looked kind of surprised. They were just looking at each other for a few seconds and it felt so natural. Amelia spoke up.

"I … uhm … wanted to thank you."

"Any time. Besides, my finger didn't get hurt by hitting the play button so that's a good thing." Owen said kind of wanting to break the awkwardness and offered a smile.

Amelia smiled back. "Actually, I wanted to thank you for … everything. You didn't have to do anything for me but you did. And I am grateful for that. If it weren't for you, I'd probably be high right now. Well not just now, I'd probably be high all the time. And lonely and … I wouldn't be grieving Derek like I am supposed to and … uhm …"

Owen cut her off because he sensed she was getting nervous talking about her addiction problems and her voice already started to crack a little when she mentioned Derek. He took her hand and said: "Hey, I told you, any time. That's what friends are for, right?"

Amelia felt like there was electricity running through their hands. _This is not how friendship feels._ She looked into his soft eyes and he looked at her teary eyes. They felt like the time stopped just for them. Owen slowly put his hands around her hips and hugged her. Amelia put her head on his shoulder. They stood really close and everything felt so genuine and right. The two of them weren't bothered by the party happening right on the other side of the door. They just hugged and nothing else was important. She felt so safe in his embrace. After quite some time, they pulled apart from the hug. Their hands were still on each other, their faces gently touching. Amelia tilted her head and slowly kissed his lower lip. Owen immediately returned her kiss. They got closer and closer with her hands on his arms, and his hands moving from her hips to her hair. The kiss was slow and gentle at first but it got more and more passionate. Amelia kept her hands on his arm muscles, sometimes moving to his broad shoulders. Owen on the other hand, couldn't decide if he should keep his hands in her dark hair or on her hips and slowly moving down to her ass. She was okay with wherever he would put them because she was turned on by him so badly right now. The kiss got more passionate and sexy with their hands all over themselves. The feelings were obviously mutual and it did not take much time until they were making out on the bed.

Suddenly, Amelia stopped and gently pushed him away. "I'm sorry, I've probably pushed the limit" said Owen worried.

"No, no, believe me, you did not push any limits! Besides, I think our limits should be pushed." said Amelia with a naughty smile and a wink. She looked somehow worried though. "It just seems wrong to make out in my brother's … Well Meredith's bed."

Owen felt so stupid and ignorant. "Oh my god, I'm sorry. This would be weird on so many levels, yeah."

"Tell you what? I have to go apologize to Meredith, I was really angry and mean to her and it has been bugging me for some time. Then you and I get to dance and drink. Well, you get to drink, I get to eat I guess," Amelia smiled, "and then after the guests leave and I'll help clean up a little I'll come to the trailer. How does that sound?"

Owen looked at this amazing woman in front of him. Just a few weeks ago she almost hit rock bottom, breaking down in his arms with oxy in her pockets and now she is here, smiling, dealing with the pain and being strong. He had to admit, he was so freaking proud. "That sounds just perfect. As long as you promise you come in this dress because it makes your ass…"

Amelia threw a jacket to him and blushed: "Dr. Hunt!" She smiled and got to the door but then she turned around. "You know, you should probably wait a while so they won't see us come out together. I kind of don't want to share my love life with the whole hospital staff and there are a lot of nurses out there so the chances of gossip about us are already pretty high."

He smiled: "Definitely. See you later Dr. Shepherd."

Amelia was just about to open the door when she said: "I'll wear the dress."

She went out and all he could do was smile. He was so lucky to have her in his life.

xxx

Amelia walked out, with a smile and sparkle in her eyes. She almost forgot why she left the bedroom – to find Meredith. She looked around the room where everyone was dancing and obviously having a good time. She took a walk throughout the room and saw Meredith and Maggie on the porch in what it seemed like an emotional moment. She wondered if she should go there and kind of ruin the moment or if she should wait till Mer is alone. Amelia remembered that Derek told her Meredith didn't have a happy family life like they did. Her parents got a divorce, she never saw her father until she moved back to Seattle and it was only then when she realized she has two half-sisters. It took her a long time to let Lexie in and then she died. And since Lexie died, Meredith did not hear from Thatcher or Molly. Then, suddenly, Maggie appeared, claiming to be her half-sister by her mother's side. Amelia knew Maggie & Meredith's story better and she also knew that it was hard for Meredith to learn something about her mother and accepting Maggie.

Amelia decided she's joining them on the porch. She was kind of aggressive towards Maggie too and all she did was trying to help the two sisters-in-law to reconcile. Amelia stepped outside. Meredith and she just exchanged a look and smiled. The great thing about this kind of sisterly relationship between Meredith and Amelia was the fact they did not have to talk everything through. Meredith was not a big talker and Amelia loved that. She loved her sisters but she hated how they always wanted to talk everything through. That drove Amelia crazy!

Amelia saw that Maggie was crying: "What are you crying about?"

Maggie answered: "Mommy and daddy issues. What are you crying about?"

Amelia did not even realize she had tears in her eyes until Maggie mentioned it. Either they were still there from listening to that voicemail or they were some crazy, random grieving tears. "Dead brother issues, I guess. And probably 30 years of dead daddy issues too, now that I think about it." She sat down with them after answering. It got awkward after Amelia mentioned Derek. They were just sitting in silence for a few minutes and then Meredith spoke out.

"You know, we should dance it out."

"What?" asked Amelia and Maggie at the same time.

"Come on, let's go," answered Meredith while taking her sister and sister-in-law's hands.

They went inside and started dancing. Maggie and Amelia did not quite get what they were doing but it felt right. Dancing seemed a fun way to forget about their problems for a little while. They moved their limbs, their hips, sang a little and the whole time Owen was watching Amelia being happy and obviously reconciled with her sister-in-law. They flirted and exchanged some looks, both knowing what they meant. But they had to wait a little bit more.

xxx

Catherine and Richard thanked Meredith for letting them have the party in her house under such short notice and then they left for their honeymoon. Everyone applauded as they drove away. After that the guests started to leave. Miranda and Ben left early because they left Tuck with a nanny, Jackson took all the gifts the newlyweds got to his car and drove home, Callie helped clean up the food leftovers, Meredith took care of all the drinks and liquor, Maggie was loading the dishwasher and Amelia was cleaning up the decorations. She was standing on a ladder and getting some decorations off the wall when Owen walked to her.

"Hey, do you need any help?" asked the tall man.

"No, thank you. I just have to put these things in the box and then I'm done," smiled Amelia as she kept getting the decorations off.

"Ok," said Owen, "Hey Meredith, I took out all the trash, do you need me to do anything?" asked Owen while he was walking towards her.

"Oh, no, that's perfect, thank you. We're basically done here, so you can go home. Thanks for the help!"

"No problem. I'll see you all in the hospital tomorrow, bye!" waved Owen, winked at Amelia and left the house.

"Well, I think I'm going too since everything seems pretty clean. I don't work in the morning and Sofia is with Arizona which means I get to sleep in after a long, looong time." said Callie while looking at the house.

Meredith came closer to Callie and whispered "Do you think it would be weird and rude if I leave my kids with Arizona for this night? Maggie has some personal stuff going on and I thought she could stay here tonight and we could talk a little."

"Oh please, Bailey is probably sleeping now and Zola and Sofia too. And if not, they are probably having some secretive princess tea party. Besides didn't you say Ellis already sleeps through the night not like Bailey that kept us all up?" smiled Callie when she remembered staying over when Bailey was a baby.

"Yeah, you're probably right. I'll give her a call anyway. Thanks."

"No problem. Good night!" yelled Callie while opening the front door.

The Grey-Shepherd sisters were alone in the house now. After calling Arizona and knowing that all kids were fine and asleep and Arizona had no problem keeping them overnight, Meredith suggested the two remaining women: "So, do you two maybe want to have like a girl's night or something? I don't know, we could eat cake and get drunk since I'm not breastfeeding or… something."

"Yeah, let's get drunk." answered Amelia sarcastically with a smile on her face.

"Oh damn. Sorry, I wasn't even thinking…"

Amelia cut her off : "Relax, it is fine. You go ahead and drink, I have plans anyway." Amelia hoped they wouldn't ask her about her plans because she did not want to lie to them but she also did not want them to know about her thing with Owen. She did not know how she would explain her relationship with Owen since not even the two of them knew what they were.

"You have plans at 1am?" asked Maggie.

"I … uhm … yeah. I have." answered Amelia without looking her in the eyes. "Well… I better get going. Have fun." She quickly took her purse and put her phone in it and walked towards the door. Mer and Maggie just stared at her until the dark haired woman disappeared.

"What just happened?" asked Meredith, clearly confused by her sister-in-law's action.

"I'm not sure… But I bet she has a better love life than I do." said Maggie already a bit tipsy.

"Yeah…" answered Meredith when she saw that Amelia did not take her car keys. Where in the world would Amelia go without her car keys; the house was basically in the middle of nowhere? It all clicked in Mer's head. Of course she would go to Owen, she knew they had a thing but she did not know they got back together? Well, she was absent for a year, it made sense… _Whatever._ Meredith decided Amelia is more than capable to handle Owen and she had to do something about her little sister anyways.

xxx

Amelia closed the front door and let out a sigh of relief. As bad as she felt for not telling the women inside where she was going at 1am, she wanted to keep this to herself. And she is a grown woman, she doesn't have to explain everything to others. Amelia just wanted to text Owen that she's coming when she heard a "Hey!" and got scared.

"Fuck Owen, you scared the crap out of me!" said Amelia.

"I'm sorry. I wanted to wait for you so you wouldn't have to walk all the way to my trailer alone. The woods can be pretty scary at night."

"Well I wasn't scared till you scared me!" said Amelia, still affected by the scare she had. She saw that Owen felt guilty and consequently now she felt guilty. "Sorry, I didn't mean to overreact, I was just nervous because Mer and Maggie were wondering where I was going this late and I did not want to lie to them but I also kind of want to keep our relationship a secret."

"So, we're in a relationship?" said Owen happily that she brought this up.

"Well, I guess us making out on the bed and you grabbing my ass counts as a relationship because I don't let friends do that to me." smiled Amelia nervously. Owen blushed and couldn't really say anything. "You know, unless you don't want us to be together because I totally get if you got freaked out because I freak myself out all the time so I get if you don't want to…"

"Hey, hey, I didn't say anything. You don't freak me out. Well you do, in a good way," smiled Owen, "but I want us to be together. We know some uncomfortable things about each other and we overcame them so I think we're on a pretty good journey."

"I just… don't want you to feel obliged to be with me just because I literally cried in your arms and you had to take away oxy from me and you had to hear out my crazy story about my baby and you were there when I exploded when Richard just asked me if I want to get some coffee and then I brought my dead daddy and dead ex fiancee and dead baby and dead brother issues up…" Amelia started to tear up. "Oh my god, now I sound like a crazy person."

Owen saw that she got all shaky and terrified of… herself. He took her hands and looked into her eyes. "Amelia, listen to me. You are not crazy. You are an extraordinary woman who SURVIVED all of those things. And you still managed to be a good sister, a good friend, a great aunt and a brilliant neurosurgeon. Me, taking oxy from you is a little contribution I made to this amazing woman standing in front of me. Everything else is you. It's all you."

Amelia hated to feel like somebody has to comfort her but she had to admit that Owen did a pretty good job. Plus while being comforted, she didn't feel like a useless addict who needs people around her telling her that everything is going to be ok. Owen made her feel powerful and confident and she really needed some of that.

"Thank you for always knowing what to say." Amelia wiped her tears and gave him a kiss. They held hands while they walked to the trailer where they spent the night.

Soooo, this was the first chapter. It was probably longer than the others will be, I'll see. What do you think? Feel free to send me reviews :)


	2. Chapter 2

Hi everyone! I wanted to thank you for amazing responses and reviews, I didn't expect this fanfic to have so many readers so I am really grateful! I hope you'll stick with me :)

There will be drama but I am not planning on some major plot twists because sincerely, I think I would be too nervous to even write it. Anyways, here's the second chapter, I decided to publish it quite early because I am really interested of what you'll think. Enjoy reading :)

xxx

Meredith was woken up by the sound of her alarm. Maggie and she were sleeping in her bed, regretting that they went to bed that late in the evening. Or that early in the morning. It was kind of funny seeing the two women in bed, looking like they had a sleepover. It was different when Cristina and Mer slept together. They were friends, they got drunk together, slept in the same bed and both woke up with a hangover. But this was Mer's little sister and surprisingly Meredith felt an obligation to be the responsible one this time. She actually did not drink the night before so at least she didn't wake up with a hangover in comparison to Maggie who woke up with a headache.

"Oh my God, turn that thing off, why is it so loud and why do you have your alarm set at 6am? You're not working in the morning and I have the day off."

"I promised Arizona I'd pick up the kids before she leaves for work. I didn't see them much yesterday so I want to spend the morning with them before I drop them at daycare in the afternoon." answered Meredith while walking towards the bathroom. She took a shower, brushed her teeth and put some fresh clothes on. When she came out Maggie was sleeping tight and Meredith had no intention of waking her up. She quietly walked out of the room and took her car keys.

xxx

Owen was woken up by the sound of rain. Amelia's head was resting on his arm and her hand was held tightly across his torso. He smiled. For some time he just watched her breathe. He wished this moment could last forever and that he could hold her close for the rest of his life. The beautiful moment was broken when Amelia's alarm on her cell phone went on. She immediately woke up but Owen quickly turned the alarm off.

"Good morning beautiful." whispered Owen in her ear.

Amelia smiled a little with her eyes still half closed. "Mornin'." They laid in bed together for a couple of minutes and it was only then when she realized they had their clothes on. "Owen?"

"Yes?"

"Did we seriously plan a night with a lot of sex and we ended up talking and innocently falling asleep?" asked the young doctor curiously. She had a smile on her face but she looked surprised.

Owen couldn't help but smile. "Yeah, we kind of really did."

"Wow, what did you do to me? When did I become the woman who blabs the whole night instead of having mind-blowing sex?" joked Amelia while getting on top of him and kissing him. Owen returned the tender kiss and asked her if she wanted some coffee.

She declined and climbed out of bed. "I need to get to the house and take a shower and then I'm off to work. But I'll see you in the hospital." Just when she grabbed her jacket in opened the door of the trailer, a lightning hit and everything shook. "Wow, what a storm!" jumped Amelia.

"It looks crazy outside. The ER will probably be full today. Hey, let me drive you to the house or you'll be soaking wet." suggested Owen while getting his shoes on.

"I'd appreciate that." They ran to the car and Owen starting driving to the house. Their hands were held all the way. When they arrived, she gave him a kiss goodbye and ran inside. They looked like some cute teenage couple, always giggling and holding hands. But at that time, it just felt right.

xxx

Maggie felt like she probably embarrassed herself enough by sleeping in Meredith's bed while she wasn't even home so she finally got up and decided to make breakfast for when Meredith gets home with the kids. She easily found some flour, eggs and milk and started making pancakes. It didn't take long till Meredith came, carrying sleeping Ellis in her hands and behind her Zola and Bailey were walking, holding hands. Zola seemed quite sleepy, in contrary Bailey was blabbing all around.

"Mmm smells nice!" said Zola and finally cheered up. She ran to Maggie and seemed interested in the pancakes she was making. Bailey ran to the living room and started playing with his toys, completely ignoring Maggie.

"The kitchen really does smell nice!" said Mer while sniffing around. "You know, you didn't have to do this."

"Oh please, it's the least I can do for me letting me stay here. Besides, they are better than cereal, right Zo?"

"Yep!" said the little girl happily while standing on her toes, eager to see what was happening on the stove.

"Thank you, really. I'm just going to take Ellis to her crib and I'll be down in a minute. Can you look over the kids, I'm sure they won't be a problem." said Mer while walking to the bedroom.

"Sure, go ahead." said Maggie while tossing a pancake in the air, making it turn and making Zola almost scream from excitement.

"Can I do that?" asked Zola very excited.

"Maybe I can teach you when you're a little older because it's pretty dangerous?" smiled Maggie.

"Okay!" answered Zola, satisfied with her answer.

Meredith just came downstairs when they heard a car, a door slam and then Amelia appeared, wearing the dress from yesterday, her hair a little messy.

"Oh. Hey. I thought you would be all asleep, it's pretty early." said Amelia, feeling kind of awkward after she spent the night at Owen's. Maggie, Meredith and Zola greeted her with a quiet 'hi' while Bailey came running to her aunt with a car in his hands.

"I had to pick up the kids since Arizona is working…" said Meredith with a look which Amelia wasn't sure was judging, thoughtful or just sleepy. There was a moment of silence and the air was filled with tension. Amelia wanted to leave and go to her room but she stayed since Bailey kept jumping around her like he hadn't seen her for ages and when he stopped, Zola insisted that her aunt should have pancakes with them. Amelia had little choice and so she sat down at the dining table. The three women ate in silence while Bailey was babbling something and Zola explained how Maggie handled the pancakes. When they finished, Zola and Bailey went to play in the playroom.

Maggie unsuccessfully tried to break the tension: "So, how did the date go?"

Amelia answered with a quick 'fine,' not even looking Maggie in the eyes.

"Ah c'mon, I bet it went more than fine!" laughed Maggie.

"Do you seriously want me to talk about my sex life?" said Amelia with her head tilted a bit and a smile on her face. She made her point and Maggie didn't ask any further questions.

"Well uhm… You have a point. Thanks for letting me stay Mer but I should probably go now. " said Maggie while already walking towards the door. "I'll see you two in the hospital sooner rather than later, probably. Bye."

Meredith was too focused on Amelia to have any major conversations with Maggie, she just answered with: "No problem. Bye."

The two sisters-in-law were left alone. Meredith immediately asked Amelia: "So, Owen and you are back together?"

Amelia gave Mer a surprising look. She had no idea how she knew. "How…"

"You left your car keys so I figured you wouldn't walk all the way to Seattle."

"Oh. Yeah." Amelia didn't really know what to say. "Look, I feel like I owe you an explanation since I'm living in your house and I did not attend the big girl's night party thing but after Derek… This is the first time after he died that I somehow feel happy with my life. I finally feel like I don't have to bury myself in work and deal with… me. It may sound stupid but I don't want to talk too much about how happy I am and jinx it." Amelia did not know how Meredith will respond to what she said but what she said felt right.

Amelia was surprised by Meredith's reply: "I get you. And you don't owe me any explanations but I am happy that you trust me because with my last response… What I want to say is I'm sorry about how I reacted when I found out about you two last year. I had no business sticking my nose into it but it was damn hard because Owen and Cristina were together for such a long time and it felt like I was betraying her." Meredith sighed, not really knowing what else to say. "I know that Derek's death was hard on all of us but… it made me realize that unfortunately you do not have a lifetime for loving someone. So you better take in the most of the time you have." There was this moment of silence. "For what it's worth it, Derek seemed happy with you two being together."

The two women were just looking at each other in total understanding. "Thank you for everything you just said." Amelia was truly grateful for Meredith's words. She went to her room, and got herself ready for work. It felt like everything was finally going to be alright.

xxx

When Owen came to the ER it was surprisingly calm considering it was raining cats and dogs outside. April seemed to handle it all so he decided to go in the attending's lounge and fill out some paperwork he left unfinished when he resigned as chief of surgery. He hated paperwork. That was one of the reasons he resigned. Instead of being in the OR, he spent his days in his office and at the beginning he liked it because it was less hectic then constantly operating but with days passing by, he understood why Derek quit. He was miserable not being able to help other people.

Owen looked desperate and focused on the papers when Amelia came in.

"I said hi, didn't you hear me?" asked Amelia.

"Oh sorry, I've been filling out some paperwork so they can finally find a new chief of surgery."

"So you are really are quitting as chief?"

"Yeah, I really am! I have more important things to focus on." said Owen happily when he signed a piece of paper.

Amelia looked thoughtful. "I don't want to seem egoistic but I hope I am not that 'important thing'?"

"What? No! I mean you are important to me but I hate that I spend more days in my office than in the OR. And going back to Iraq just made me miss surgery even more."

Amelia seemed satisfied with his answer. "Good. I don't want you to give up anything for me. One must have his own priorities and shouldn't give up on them no matter what, right?"

"Right. And since we're talking about priorities in life… I know it's way too early to ask this question but I don't want to mess _us_ up. I know this is probably a sensitive topic for you but I feel like I have to ask you because this was one of the many reasons me and Cristina split." Owen looked terrified and didn't know how to ask. "What I want to ask you is if you want to have kids. Not now of course but… some day. When you're ready."

Amelia stared at him. This is the question that James once asked her and she knew the answer. She knew she wanted to have kids, she loved kids. She was scared of having them but she wanted kids. But this question made her think of her baby and Owen did not know what exactly happened to her baby. James knew when he asked that question but Owen didn't. What if he wouldn't want to be with her after he found out? Amelia looked pale and didn't say a word.

Owen felt really bad after seeing her sad eyes. He stood up. "Amelia, are you okay? God, I'm sorry, I knew I shouldn't ask this so soon, I freaked you out, didn't I? I don't want you to feel pressured…"

Owen was about to finish his sentence when Arizona interrupted the two of them. "Ugh, I haven't even had breakfast and two kids already died in my OR. Plus, I have a mom and I have to break some bad news to her, her kid has anencephaly. I hate this day already." said the blonde woman while throwing herself on the couch. She barely finished her sentence when Amelia ran out, with tears in her eyes. Owen just saw Amelia's tears in her big blue eyes. He felt so guilty.

"Did I say something?" asked Arizona, feeling very confused and worried.

"No, I did." said Owen as he ran after her. He came outside the lounge and he couldn't see where she went. _Damn it Owen. Why did you have to ask her that?_

xxx

Ok, so I finished this with a cliffhanger (I'm mean, I know). What do you think will happen after this?

Reviews are more than welcome.


	3. Chapter 3

_Hi everyone, don't worry, I'm still here! I hadn't had the time to post because I had a lot of last minute assignments and boring stuff before the exams start. I promise to post the next chapter soon, it's ready, I just need to read through it to check for grammar mistakes._

 _Ok, so the previous chapter ended with a cliffhanger so I bet you're anxious to read what will happen. Go ahead and enjoy! :)_

xxx

Amelia ran up the stairs and went straight into an on-call room. She cried loudly for some seconds and then took a few steps back and forward while taking deep breaths. The thought of her baby still hurt so much. She was terrified of Owen finding out. She wanted to tell him, she really did but she knew she was probably going to cry like hell again and not able to stop. And what if the fact that her body only 'produces' anencephalic children would scare him off? It scares her, how couldn't it scare him? "Keep it together Amelia, keep it together _._ For the baby." Only when she wiped away her tears did she notice April Kepner staring at her from the bunk bed.

"Oh crap, sorry, I didn't see you. You must think…"

April cut her off. "No, no, no, it's fine, believe me. Are you pregnant?" asked April, her face surprised and terrified at the same time.

"What? No! Why would you think that?" Amelia did not know where the question came from. Was it some kind of a family-questioning day today?

"You said you need to keep it together… For the baby… I assumed…"

"Ohhhhhh! No, no, I'm not having another baby." Crap. She said _another_. How could she keep this a secret from all her family for almost 4 years and spill it in 5 seconds with Kepner?

"Another? You have a child!?" April was surprised and with every Amelia's answer more confused.

Normally, Amelia would storm off and not talk about because she hated the 'oh my god, I get how you must be feeling' talks and but she knew April's history and she felt like she is the one person who could understand her. "I… I don't. He died. He would have been 4 this year." She sat down feeling a bit calmer than before.

April thought of Amelia as the last person who had a baby that died. "I'm sorry. Mine would have been 1."

"I'm sorry too." Amelia looked to April, both women were having teary eyes.

After a long time, April finally felt like she wasn't 'that woman with the dead baby' everyone in the hospital thought of her now. She did not know Amelia that well so she didn't have a clue whether she should leave her alone or offer her some help. She decided the best she could do was complain about her problems and maybe let Amelia forget about her own for a little while. The best for both of them was to get away from the baby topic.

"Apparently Jackson wants a divorce if I go back to Iraq."

Amelia looked at the woman and sat on one of the beds. "You want to go back?"

"Yeah, I really do. You get to help so many people there with so little equipment. It's amazing how much you learn and how grateful the people are just because you are there, trying to help. No one questions your abilities there."

"And he doesn't want to go with you?" asked Amelia.

"No. He says that I'm running away from our problems and from everything but I swear, being in Iraq felt like…"

Amelia interrupted her. "Like you're on a high?"

"Exactly!"

"But you do know you're literally running away, right?" April was surprised at how quickly Amelia sided with Jackson.

"Did you just side with him?!" April seemed kind of angry that Amelia agreed with Jackson.

"Look, I don't know you that well and I don't know Avery that well so maybe I'm wrong. But I know a lot about running from your problems. I ran away from every obstacle in my life and it never paid off. I spent quite some time getting high. Literally. As much as it made me forget about my problems and made me forget for some time, it didn't have a good long term effect. As I said, I don't know you two good enough and I don't know your problems so I might be wrong but think about it."

April seemed to get where Amelia was going to and she was right. She did not want to talk about her problems anymore. "What are you running from?"

"Excuse me?" Amelia was surprised at the sudden question.

"You literally ran in here in tears. I bet it wasn't something random?"

"No, I guess it wasn't." said Amelia while looking down.

"You don't have to talk about it but maybe you should listen to your own advice. Something about no running, right?" April sarcastically said to her.

"Easily said than done I guess…" Amelia smiled, realizing that maybe she was projecting her advice to April on herself.

April got a page. "Ugh, it's the ER. I came here 10 seconds before you did because everything seemed ok but I guess I was being too optimistic for a rainy day."

Amelia got a page too. "This seems urgent. Let's go." They ran down the stairs and got to the ER. A nurse spotted the two doctors. "The ambulances will be here in a minute. Dr. Hunt and Dr. Karev are already waiting outside." Amelia froze for a second when she heard that Owen is waiting outside. She knew she would have to face Owen but she wished it wouldn't have to be this soon. They went outside and the ambulances just came.

Owen just opened up the door of the first ambulance. "What do we have?"

"12-year old girl, car crash, injuries to her abdomen, BP is low. We had to shock her on the way her." answered a paramedic. The mom is coming in the other ambulance."

"Karev, Kepner can you handle her while Dr. Shepherd and I wait for the mom?"

"Sure." answered April and they were already going inside.

The second ambulance came. The door got opened and the mom was paranoid and asking about her daughter. "How is Alice? Please tell me she's going to be ok!"

"Ma'm, we need you to stay still ok?" said Amelia calmly.

"39-year old female involved in a car crash. Minor head injuries, complains of pain in her abdomen. BP and vitals holding steady for now." The paramedic explained her status while they we're already inside the ER, going into a trauma room.

One of the interns was getting the woman an IV and another one was taking her blood while Amelia was checking her eyes and head. "Pupils are equal and responsive but I'd like to run a head CT just in case because there's some bleeding going on."

Meanwhile Owen was checking her abdomen. As she touched her upper abdomen, the woman let out an "ouch." "CT of her abdomen too and one of you run that blood tests." One of the interns ran to get the blood checked while the other one was told to go back in the ER.

"Please, someone tell me how my daughter is doing!" yelled the woman desperately.

"The doctors are still working on her. We're getting you up for a CT scan and then we'll probably know more about her." said Owen while they were already moving from the trauma room to the elevator.

The woman was quiet afterwards, letting out a few tears because of her tears. Amelia and Owen should have been concentrated on their patient but instead Owen was staring at Amelia, trying to figure out if she was ok. She could feel his eyes on her but she couldn't look at him. She was looking at the elevator buttons instead, hoping they would get to the right floor soon. Luckily, the elevator doors opened. They got the woman to CT. "Ok, this won't hurt or anything, you just have to stay still. The radiologist will be on line with you so if you start feeling dizzy or just… different don't hesitate to tell him. He'll tell you some further instructions." said Amelia with a smile that seemed to calm the woman down as much as it could, given the situation.

"Please find out how my daughter is doing." begged the mother in despair.

"We'll find out as much as we can." answered Owen.

They left the room and went to the hall. Amelia kept walking quickly. It was obvious she was nervous.

"Amelia, please stop." said Owen while grabbing her wrist. "Can we talk?"

Amelia slowly turned, her eyes facing the floor. She quietly said "Let's go to the supply room." They moved a few steps forward and went in.

"Amelia, are you okay? I know I…"

Amelia cut him off. "Owen, just…"

"I shouldn't have asked you that, you had…"

"Owen…" repeated Amelia quietly.

"You had every right to…"

Amelia yelled. "Owen! Would you shut up for a second and listen to me?" Owen looked surprised, he was sure he would be the one talking for most of the time. "I run away from every problem in my life, I try hard to avoid anything that might allow me to break in any way so this is really hard for me." She stopped for a moment. "But I am trying here because I want this to work and for this to work I need to just stop running… and talk." She took a few deep breaths and a step back. She nervously scratched her forehead. Amelia was clearly nervous. She finally spoke up. "My baby died." Her voice was already cracking a little and Owen couldn't stand to see her in pain. He put his palm on her cheek. She took another step back. "Please don't… don't touch me right now. If you start touching me, I'll start to cry. And if I start crying, you'll say that everything is going to be fine. And then I won't say what I want to say and if I don't say this now I might never say it and I know you won't push me…" Her eyes were getting glassy and filled with tears. Owen obeyed the brunette and nodded.

"Almost five years ago I lost my best friend. She had Huntington's disease and killed herself. I turned to alcohol and later to drugs. I met a guy who understood my pain, he understood my need for drugs. I mean, I don't know if it was true love or all the drugs in our system but… we got engaged. We would get high together all the time. It got pretty bad and my coworkers staged an intervention for me. Of course I didn't listen to them, instead we got to a hotel and kept getting high. One night…" Amelia felt a lump in her throat. She knew she was getting to the major part of her history. "We decided to have a family and we were both smart enough to know we had to get clean before having kids." Tears started pouring down her face. "He uhm… decided to flush the pills we had but I… I insisted on getting high for the last time. We fell asleep and I woke up to a dead fiancée." She wiped the tears away but new ones kept pouring down. "After that I went to rehab and got myself clean and sober. When I got out my life was somehow beginning to get normal again. Then I found out I was pregnant. Addison did an ultrasound." Owen's heart was breaking while hearing the story. He thought the dead baby part was hard enough, he did not know about her best friend and fiancée. "She told me that it's a boy." Amelia smiled a little, tears still coming out. "I was so happy for a moment but then I saw her look. She moved the screen away so I wouldn't have to see it. She diagnosed my baby with anencephaly. I carried him to term and donated his organs right after he was born. I got to hold him for a few minutes before they took him to surgery. He was so beautiful…" Amelia started sobbing. "That's why I ran today. When Arizona started talking about her case I just couldn't…." Amelia was shaking, crying and sliding down the wall, almost sitting on the floor. Owen couldn't resist hugging her tightly. He put his arms around her and held her as close as he could. He wished he could take her pain away. The tears kept coming out of her eyes. They spent quite some time in a hug until she finally calmed down a little. Amelia's breathing was slowly getting normal. His embraces made her feel better.

She turned to him and looked him in his deep blue eyes. "Owen, I want to have a family of my own some day. I want kids, a lot of them. I am terrified of having more but I want to. With you."

Owen just smiled. She wanted his kids. And that wasn't the only reason he smiled, he didn't just see her as an incubator for his maybe future children. This incredible, strong woman who overcame so many obstacles in her life was his girlfriend. His amazing, fearless girlfriend. He kept repeating the word girlfriend in his mind and it sounded surreal. He felt like a teenager. "Thank you for telling me that. I cannot even imagine what you went through." Amelia felt relieved by his words. "And some day, I want a family too. With you."

Amelia wasn't prepared for this. She was sure he was going to either pity her or simply walk away. She just stared at this amazing, understanding man in front of her. They both looked into each other's eyes and kissed. It was not a quick kiss but also not a passionate or romantic one. It was a kiss that told them everything is going to work out. They would keep kissing if they didn't get a page. The patient was out of CT. "I guess we'll leave that for later." said Amelia with their noses still touching. She cleaned her face. "I look like I've been crying for the whole day, don't I?"

Owen stood up and offered her his hand. "No, just half of it." He smiled mischievously.

Amelia took his hand, stood up and messed up his hair and smiled back "Thanks, Mr. Perfect."

He tried to undo the hair mess she has done, opened the door and let go of her hand. "After you."

Amelia took a step forward and then stopped. "How about if you give me back your hand?"

"I can but the nurses will see us and then the whole hospital will know."

"Great. Then we won't have to break the news about us to anyone, they'll do it for us." Amelia tilted her head and smiled.

"Are you sure?" asked Owen, surprised, yet happy about her suggestion.

"Only if you are."

Owen closed the door and took her hand. They walked towards the CT room. They didn't mind the nurses and doctors staring at them at all. Callie passed by and at first just stared at them confused with every part of her eyes until she got a page. She ran pass them and just casually said: "So you two, ha? Never would have guessed but you look cute." She winked at them as they smiled back at her, both with a little blush on their cheeks. They finally arrived to the CT room where an intern handed them over the blood results and the radiologist showed them the CT scans. Both of them were staring at them and Amelia felt like they felt more uncomfortable then Owen and her which was funny.

"As I suspected, she has a ruptured spleen, she'll need a splenectomy." concluded Owen.

"She also has a subdural hematoma but it doesn't seem severe. I'll do a burr hole trephination, that should fix it. Call the OR and let them now we're coming." Amelia ordered the intern. "Did you find out anything about the daughter?"

"She was critical so Dr. Kepner and Dr. Karev immediately took her to surgery but I don't know anything more." the intern said while calling the OR.

Amelia whispered to Owen. "Damn it, the kids always get the worst of it."

"Yeah, I know." Owen barely finished his sentence and his pager went off. "We've got more in-coming in the ER. I'll get someone from general to go into surgery with you." and with that he ran down the stairs.

Amelia felt like she had to call and find out something more about the daughter. She decided to call April. "Hey, it's me, I was just wondering how the girl's doing so I can tell the mother something more."

One of the nurses put her on the speaker so April could hear her and talk while she was still doing surgery. "She was a mess but Alex and I seemed to fix her for now. It's going fine so far but she'll probably have a long recovery. How's the mom?"

"Ok, that's good. She has a ruptured spleen and a subdural hematoma but other than that she seems fine. I'm going into surgery now but I expect no complications. Bye." Amelia hung up and decided to go take care of her patient. Amelia took the women's gurney and went towards the elevators. They gave the women some pain medicine so she was feeling a little bit cheery than the patients usually are. "I thought the male doctor would be here. He is a real babe, isn't he?"

Amelia couldn't help but smile when the woman called Owen a babe. "Oh, you have no idea."

"So… where are we going exactly?"

Amelia completely forgot to mention that they were taking her into surgery. "Oh right, I am sorry, I haven't even told you. So, the bad news is that you have a ruptured spleen and a brain bleed but the good news is that it's an easy fix. We'll get you in surgery and you'll be completely fine afterwards."

The woman ignored what Amelia said and suddenly asked: "Where is Alice, how is she doing?"

"They had to take her to surgery but she seems to be doing ok."

"Oh."

Amelia was kind of relieved that her patient was currently not completely aware of what was going on. It was better this way. She got a text from Owen in the elevator. "Bailey is waiting in OR2, good luck." She responded with: "Thank you, babe. ;)" Amelia smiled at the thought of calling Owen 'babe' but it was so funny and she couldn't help it. Besides, the patient said it first, right?

xxx

 _So this is it for now. It was a bit longer than the previous one and the last part was maybe a little bit boring but I didn't know how to write it other way. I will not write anything more about the two patients because they won't be that important for this storyline. The next chapter will start with a little time jump. Excited? :)_

 _Send me reviews, suggestions, anything you want._


	4. Chapter 4

Hi, I hope you're still reading this. I'm really sorry I haven't been publishing that often, I have a lot of exams but I expect to be free in 2/3 weeks and then I'll be completely yours.

I published a longer chapter since I haven't published in more than a week. As always, enjoy reading it!

2 months have passed since Amelia and Owen decided to make their relationship public. They were truly a happy couple. Of course they had their fights and disagreements but they always managed to talk them through. Amelia was still officially living in Meredith's house although she really didn't spend that much time there. Owen and she were talking about moving in together. It might have seemed early but they really felt it was the right time. Amelia wanted to move in with Owen - well not actually in the trailer - they were looking for an apartment and found some suitable ones, but she wasn't sure about leaving Meredith and the kids. Her fear seemed quite stupid since she did not spend that much time at the house but she didn't want to leave Meredith totally alone and less her nieces and nephew. With Derek dead she just couldn't leave them that easily. After his death Amelia didn't speak to anyone from the Shepherd family. She couldn't afford to lose the only family she had right now.

All these thoughts were running through Amelia's head while Owen and she were driving back from his mother's house.

"You seem thoughtful." said Owen while putting his hand on her thigh.

"Oh. You know, I've just been thinking about everything that has happened since I moved here."

"A lot has." carefully said Owen, not knowing if she was referring to Derek's death or the two of them.

Amelia knew she was getting _the worried look_ from him. She decided to change the topic "Your mom's dinner was really delicious, I'm full."

He gave her a little smile. "Yeah, she tends to overfeed everyone."

Amelia smiled back as she thought of her own mother. "I guess that's what all mothers do. Mine is the same. I couldn't wait to move out so I could stop being asked if I ate breakfast, if I'm sure I won't eat another plate, if I want an apple..."

"I remember her hovering over Meredith and Derek and their eating habits." smiled Owen as he remembered his now mother-in-law.

"You met my mom before the funeral?" asked Amelia, surprised at what Owen told her.

"Yeah, she was at the hospital once, while visiting Meredith and Derek."

"Oh." There was a long moment of silence. "I should probably call my mom…" Amelia suddenly felt bad for changing the topic to their mothers.

"Yeah?"

"The last time we talked was after Derek died… She called every day. A few times a day actually. She wanted to make sure I was fine and I was so mean. Eventually I got annoyed and stopped answering her calls." Amelia sighed. "Damn it, I swear I'm the most awful daughter a mother could have."

Owen recognized her desperate voice. He knew she was sorry for how she treated her mother but he understood her. "Hey, you were hurt. And she knows you so I bet she understands."

Amelia started tearing up a little. "That's the point Owen. I keep messing things up and she always understands and swallows the pain." She breathed out. "She deserves better after dad and Derek..."

Owen went left to the road that leads to Derek's, well, Meredith's land. "All mothers are like that Amelia. When I came back from Iraq for the first time I didn't even tell my mom I was back for a really long time. I apologized and of course she forgave me but I still feel terrible about that." He looked at Amelia knowing he would have to say something more. "I never told anyone this but… My dad died when I was 15. I turned into this rebellious teenager who blamed his mom for everything bad that happened. I was hateful to her so I get you." Amelia seemed shocked by his statement. She knew he had his problems but she never knew about his dad. "Maybe you should give your mom a call, tell her how you feel. It would make you feel better." The two of them drove in front of the house rather to the trailer. Meredith was working the night shift and Amelia was babysitting. Owen offered to help her. He stopped the car when they arrived.

Amelia was looking thoughtful. "I don't know…" She took a deep breath. "I probably should." She looked somehow more peaceful as they walked out of the car to the front door. "You know, my mom would like you so much if she heard you convincing me to call her." smiled Amelia while she opened the door.

Meredith almost came running to the door as they came in. "Amelia, do not get pissed at me for this, it was not my idea, she called while you were working and I wanted to tell you but I just noticed you forgot your cell here and then I didn't want to bother you two and call Owen, so I…" Meredith stopped talking as a woman appeared from their guest bedroom.

"Mom." said Amelia. She did not expect her mother to be here. Did she somehow overhear hear the conversation Amelia and Owen just had and somehow transported to Seattle?

"Hello Amy. It's nice to see you." said Carolyn, carrying Bailey in her arms. No one knew what to say; Meredith because she didn't warn Amelia about her mother's visit and Amelia and Carolyn because of their current relationship.

Owen, knowing the situation, felt the need to break the silence. "It's nice to see you again, Mrs. Shepherd."

Carolyn smiled at him. "You too, major Hunt."

"Oh, please, call me Owen." answered Owen politely. He didn't get a response. Carolyn was looking at Amelia and Amelia was trying really hard not to look her mother in the eyes.

"Uhm, I should go to work or I'll be late… Are you sure you are fine to put Bailey down, he can get really fussy?" asked Meredith awkwardly, not exactly knowing why the air was so tense.

"Of course, it really isn't a problem." said Carolyn while looking at her grandson who was fussing a little in her arms.

Meredith kissed Bailey on his forehead and said goodbye to everyone as she left the house.

"I'll get this one to his bed and then we have some catching up to do." said Amelia's mother in a very motherly voice that gave Amelia the shivers every time since she was a child.

"You know, I can put him down for you if you want. It usually takes a while before he falls asleep. That way, you'll have plenty of time to talk." offered Owen, seeing that Bailey was being fussy. He also knew that Amelia would freak out and overthink everything she has to say to her mother if she walked away even for a minute.

Carolyn seemed a bit surprised that Owen knew so much about her grandson but it made sense that he helped. She also caught a look between Amelia and Owen so it slowly all made sense to her. "Thank you." simply said Carolyn while handing Bailey over to Owen. Owen seemed to handle Bailey very well and the boy was happy in his arms. Carolyn watched the two of them going to Bailey's bedroom and noticed a little smile on Amelia's face. She sat down on the couch. "The two of you are pretty close?" asked the woman without any hesitation.

Amelia knew her mother very well. And her mother knew Amelia even better. None of her children could hide a thing from her. "Yes. We are. Owen is my boyfriend, actually." There it was. She finally said it to her mother. The word boyfriend suddenly seemed silly since she was a woman in her 30s.

"Good for you. He seems a very good man." was all that Carolyn said back.

"He truly is." said Amelia with a sparkle in her eyes. There was a quiet moment before Amelia asked her mother: "How have you been, mom?"

Carolyn knew that this question wasn't a random catch up question. It was a question about Derek. "I am pushing through. You probably want me to say I'm fine and I would like to say I am but... I will probably never be."

Amelia's heart hurt while she was listening to her mother being heartbroken again. She could still remember how sad her mother was when their dad died and how much she wanted to hide it so it wouldn't affect the kids too much. She felt even guiltier when hearing her words. "Mom, I'm really sorry about how I…" Amelia couldn't get the words out.

"I know, I know. It's ok." said Carolyn, completely understanding her youngest daughter. She knew her very well and assumed what her reaction is going to be like.

Amelia raised her voice. "Stop saying that it's ok mom, nothing I ever did to you was ok!" She took a deep breath while her mother was looking at her. "I caused you so much pain and you just… took it." Amelia's eyes were getting wet.

Carolyn seemed to be thinking about something, took a deep breath and then finally spoke. "Amelia, I'm not going to lie to you because you're not my 5-year old girl anymore. Yes, you did cause me pain. And yes, I took it. And it hurt. But you know what made it all go away? You, coming out of rehab. And you, getting your acceptance letter to med school, and your graduation, and you coming home for holidays and telling me how many patients you got to save. I was terrified to come to Seattle after the funeral and find you… Like I've found you many years ago." Carolyn sighed and Amelia knew she was referring to her overdose and her 3 minutes long death. "That's why I kept calling, I didn't have the courage to come over here and see you in pain. I was a coward…"

Amelia cut her mother off, both women had tears in their eyes. "Mom, please stop blaming yourself. If anyone is a coward in our family, it's me, it's definitely not you. I run from everything and everyone…"

This time Carolyn cut her off. "But I see you didn't this time. You dealt with everything by yourself, you have a handsome man that has the ability to get the kids asleep, which believe me is a trait very hard to find. As much as it bothers me that you're not a little girl anymore and I don't have any control of your life it makes me so proud that you are a strong woman who is able to take care of herself. And as much as you may not want to hear what I'm going to say because I know that you hate us all hovering over your addiction problems… You have no idea how proud I am that you didn't fall off the wagon again." At this point, Carolyn took Amelia's hand and gave her a genuine motherly smile that Amelia needed so much.

"I… uhm… bought pills." Amelia felt the obligation to tell Carolyn all the truth because she was right. Amelia wasn't a runner anymore. She promised she wouldn't run anymore. _For Derek._ Carolyn's smile disappeared within a millisecond. "I tried not to feel anything, I couldn't let myself feel anything after dad and Ryan and Derek and…" she remembered she hadn't told her mother about the baby. And she wasn't ready to. "…at the beginning I could actually manage to do that. I buried myself with the hardest cases, I spent my free time with the kids but when Meredith left and the cases were basically solved it was starting to hit me. Really hard. So I went and bought some oxy. I came home and I was trying to decide whether to take it or not. That's when Owen came back from Iraq…"

"He went back to Iraq?" Carolyn asked surprised at the fact.

"Yeah… I guess we're both runners…" smiled Amelia. "But he came back and made me think about it again. He saved me from all of this."

Carolyn smiled at her daughter. "He seems like a good man."

"He is." said Amelia with a touch of gratitude in her voice.

"I'm glad to hear that you are happy. The one thing I don't get is how he could leave right after your brother died. I mean I don't want to…"

"We weren't together then, we got together about 2 months ago after Meredith came back." explained Amelia.

"Oh, that makes sense!" she looked at her daughter. A long time ago, Amelia was the problem causer, an irresponsible teenager who made many bad decisions. And now her youngest daughter is a grown up woman, with a brilliant career, a great boyfriend. Carolyn was so proud at how Amelia's life turned out. "Thank you for telling me everything. I know it's hard for you to open up and expose your problems."

Amelia nodded and hugged her mother. "I'm glad you're here, mom, I really am." The two Shepherd women were in a tight hug, both knew that they were as fine as they could ever be.

This beautiful mother-daughter moment was disturbed when Carolyn's phone rang. She looked at the screen. "It's Kathleen, I forgot to call her when I came here. I should answer this."

"You should or all the wolves will come here and eat you alive." said Amelia with a grin on her face.

"Don't push it or I just might invite them all."

Amelia smiled and whispered. "I'll go see how Owen's doing. Say hi to Kate and tell her I'm still sober and alive."

Carolyn gave her a look she always would when she did something bad, and answered the phone. Amelia smiled like a mischievous little kid and thought about her sisters while walking to Bailey's bedroom. She definitely liked her brother more than her sisters but that doesn't mean she doesn't love them. She always liked Lizzie the most. She was the one who never followed her older sibling's rules and she was also the closest to Amelia's age. They would play together a lot and hang out when they were teenagers but after Amelia had her addiction problems Lizzie seemed to be scared to even be around her. The next one was Kathleen. She was always the quiet one but when she said something, she always said the right thing. She was the typical middle child, she always felt left out. When she wasn't under Nancy's influence she was great to hang around with, especially when they were older. She also seemed the most non-judgmental. The oldest was Nancy. To be clear, of course Amelia loved her but she was tough. Amelia could deal with a lot of different types of tough but Nancy was not one of them. The thing she liked about Nancy though were her kids-Amelia's nieces and nephews. They were all cheeky, very opened and sincere, similar to Amelia actually, which sometimes drove Nancy crazy. And that drove Amelia insanely happy.

Amelia quietly opened the door, trying not to wake up Bailey. The scene she saw in front of her eyes was adorable. Owen was sitting in the armchair, holding Bailey, who was sucking on his thumb. The two of them were both deeply asleep. Amelia smiled at them and decided to take a picture with her phone. She carefully lifted Bailey and put him in his bed. He was not a heavy sleeper, so she was more than happy that he didn't wake up. Owen seemed to be sound asleep too. She bent towards Owen and whispered in his ear. "Owen, wake up." He shook a little and woke up. "Shhh, Bailey is asleep, come on, let's go." She took his hand and led him out of the room.

xxx

"As I said, don't worry. Say hello to the kids and Tom for me. I will. Bye, bye now." Carolyn just hung up when Amelia and Owen came from Bailey's room. "Kate says hi. She is freaking out because Olivia has her first serious boyfriend."

"Ha, I wish I could see that." laughed Amelia at the thought of her completely put together sister freaking out.

"Just wait and see till you have yours and they start dating." answered Carolyn while looking at the two of them. She unintentionally provoked an awkward moment between the three of them. Amelia and Owen just looked at each other and Carolyn knew that was not a good topic to make small talk about. She quickly changed it: "I'm going to bed now. Should I expect to see the two of you at breakfast tomorrow morning?"

"Yeah, we'll just stay here." answered Amelia very relaxed.

"Ok then. Good night."

"Good night." smiled Owen.

"Night mom."

The woman left to the guestroom and Amelia already started walking towards her bedroom when Owen asked: "Are you ok with me sleeping here tonight?" Amelia looked at him weirdly. They slept together for so many times, why wouldn't she be ok with it? "I mean, your mom is here, have you told her… is she ok with the two us…"

Amelia smiled. "I told her and she's really happy. Relax, my mom is pretty liberal. She even allowed our boyfriends and girlfriends to stay over when we were teenagers. She always told us that if we were going to have sex, we should at least have it in some place warm and comfortable. Consequently, none of us really thought about doing _it_ anywhere so she did a pretty good job. And besides, I think we're old enough to not listen to our moms about our sleeping arrangements."

Owen laughed at what Amelia told him. They just got in her bedroom. Owen kissed her neck. "Well in that case I would like to talk about our sleeping arrangements tonight."

Amelia laughed while letting him kiss her. "Please do!"

Owen grabbed her by her waist and it didn't take long before they were in bed. Amelia almost ripped his shirt off while making out and taking off their clothes.

"It's getting kind of hot in here, maybe I should take off your blouse." whispered Owen.

Amelia didn't say a word, she just seductively started to unbutton her blouse while looking him in the eyes and he couldn't help but kiss her all the way from her lips, down her neck and boobs to her belly. She felt so turned on and so did he. They kept taking their clothes off until they got to a point of a long lasting mind blowing sex. They moaned in pleasure and if they were in the trailer right now, they would probably also scream loudly. But they really didn't want to wake to kids up or worse-Amelia's mother. After long lasting sweaty sex they could barely catch their breaths. Owen ended up lying on his back, playing with Amelia's hair, while Amelia's head was on his chest and her hand casually thrown around his torso. They didn't say a word. They just stayed as close as they could until they fell asleep.

xxx

Carolyn was woken up by the cries of her youngest granddaughter-Ellis. She woke up and took her from the crib and went to the kitchen to give her a bottle. She almost forgot how it is having a baby around. Amelia didn't have any children and it has been a long time since her oldest daughters' kids were this young. Derek and Meredith had 2 kids before Ellis but Carolyn was never really there when they were babies. Well, Zola wasn't actually a little baby when they got her but she could have been there when Bailey was born. Meredith and Derek were way more private then her daughters and their husbands but she could have pushed a little and spend more time with their children. She felt guilty for not spending her time around Derek and around his children. And now it was too late. Her son wasn't here anymore. She was feeding Ellis and looking at how similar she looked to Derek. She had dark brown hair and his eyes. She was a spitting image of her father. And Derek was a spitting image of his father. Bailey did have some of Derek's traits but he definitely looked more like Meredith. Carolyn even saw more Meredith than Derek in Zola which was kind of weird because they are not blood related but she really did. Maybe it was more of her personality than her overall look but still. Ellis definitely took the majority of the Shepherd genes. Right as she was feeding her and smiling at how quickly she was getting her bottle empty, Meredith came in.

"Good morning. She's awake already? I was hoping I could get home early and feed her, she probably woke everyone up." said Meredith while putting her stuff on the couch.

"Oh, please, I raised five like this plus some of my grandchildren, believe me, it's not a problem. And I don't think she woke anyone up, the house still seems very quiet. You should get some rest while everyone is still asleep."

Meredith just sat down on the couch, looking at her daughter and her only grandma. She often asked herself how it would be if her mother were still alive. It was a pretty stupid question, her mother was cold and definitely not a motherly person, let along a grandmotherly one but still. Maybe it would be different.

Carolyn broke the silence. "She looks so much like Derek."

Meredith answered with a lump in her throat. "She does." Her mother-in-law was right, Ellis shared a freakish resemblance with her father.

Carolyn noticed Meredith's face. It was a proud and happy one but at the same time she looked terrified at the fact that Ellis looks so much like Derek. "It's a good thing. My kids, well most of them, look like my husband did. I didn't notice that until he died and I started to see him in every single one of them. At first it was terrifying to see him in everyone but with time it made me feel like he was there with me. And with them."

Meredith just awkwardly nodded, not really knowing what the right response could be. Thankfully, Zola appeared out of her room "Mommy, you're home!"

"I am." smiled Mer at her daughter while giving her a kiss on the forehead. "Did you sleep well, love bug?"

"I did but Bailey didn't. He went to sleep late and now he will be bad all day." answered Zola in a very older-sister tone.

"I bet he will be happier if we make some waffles for breakfast, what do you think?" asked Carolyn.

"Yuuuuum, let's do it!" yelled Zola and ran to the kitchen.

Carolyn and Meredith smiled at how excited Zola was. That girl always loved to help in the kitchen, even if it was just pouring milk in a bowl. Carolyn handed the baby to Meredith and headed to the kitchen.

xxx

Owen and Amelia were suddenly woken up by a screaming Bailey who ran into their room. "Wake! Affle, affle!"

Thank God it was pretty cold that night and they put their clothes back on because it didn't take long before Meredith came in after him. "I'm sorry, your mother and I were talking about whether we should wake you up for waffles or not and I guess he probably just heard the waking you up part."

"Don't worry." smiled Owen while Amelia took her nephew in her arms. "We'll be up in a minute, let me just tickle my favorite boy." The boy started giggling loudly while his aunt tickled him. When she stopped, he quickly jumped out of bed and ran out of the room, still laughing loudly. Meredith closed the door.

"You're really good with him." Owen didn't get a response and maybe his sentence sounded too bit family oriented. But he really didn't want to make it sound that way. He changed the topic. "Your mom's waffles smell almost as good as yours. Definitely worth waking up for." teased Owen while changing his clothes and cleaning up.

She joked:"Don't say it too loud or she might make them every day. For the rest of your life." laughed Amelia. She laid in bed for a little while and then took a robe and dressed it over her nightdress. She checked her phone and seemed thoughtful.

They got ready and went in the kitchen. The smell was heavenly. They all greeted the two of them with a 'good morning'.

"I don't know if it's because I'm really not good at cooking or do these taste extremely good?" asked Meredith, more than satisfied with her breakfast.

"It's because I helped!" answered Zola who was patiently waiting for everyone to taste the waffles and give her some feedback.

"Great job, chef Zola, they taste even better than Amelia's!" joked Owen. Zola proudly smiled at her aunt who did not seem as amused as everyone else at the table.

"Coffee?" offered Meredith.

"Sure." answered Owen.

"Not for me, thanks." Amelia was a passionate coffee drinker, so her answer surprised everyone. "I have an early surgery so I don't really have time for a big breakfast and coffee, I'll get something in the hospital."

"Are you sure dear?" worriedly asked Carolyn.

"Yes, mother." answered Amelia, with a tone of annoyance in her voice. She left the table and went straight to her bedroom. The rest of the breakfast was quite quiet among the adults. Thank God for Zola and Bailey who kept talking back and forward.

xxx

Amelia walked into her bedroom and checked her phone again. She panicked. It was May 15th.

xxx

Ok, so this was it. I really loved Carolyn's character on Grey's and I was so sad that we didn't get to see her for Derek's funeral. I just had to put her in my story!

What do you think will happen, what does May 15th mean to Amelia?


	5. Chapter 5

Hello, I finally found some time to publish this chapter. One more exam week and then I hope I'm done so I can write more and publish more often.

So here is the fifth chapter, I hope you'll like it. Feel free to write a review afterwards :)

xxx

The car ride to the hospital was awfully quiet. Amelia was driving and Owen was sitting in the passenger seat next to her. The radio was playing quietly and it just started to rain a little.

"Is everything ok?" asked Owen, not knowing what was going on.

"Sure. Why wouldn't it be?" answered Amelia reassuringly although her voice seemed nervous.

"I don't know… You woke up in a good mood and since breakfast… Was it the thing about waffles?"

"What thing?" For a moment Amelia seriously did not remember the little tease he pulled on her about Zola making better waffles than her. "Oh, that. You don't think I'm jealous of my niece, do you?" asked Amelia curiously.

"I didn't say you were jealous, I just thought…"

Amelia stopped him while parking the car in front of the hospital. "Everything in my life is not about you, ok? I get to have a bad day." She let out these words with some irony and anger, yet she had a little smile on her face.

Owen wasn't sure of what to say or do. But if he learned something about Amelia it was to give her space when she needed it. He walked out of the car and gave her a look that Amelia hated. It was a look that contained worry, anger and sadness. She hated this look because she didn't want him to worry about her and because afterwards she felt really bad at how she treated him. But she wasn't ready to tell him her real reason why she was acting like this.

xxx

The day at the hospital was awfully peaceful. Amelia did 2 scheduled surgeries, some consults and some post OPs and treated 1 patient in the ER. She was just walking from the ER when her phone rang. She looked at the screen. _Charlotte King._ Amelia sighed and muted her phone. She wanted to spend this day alone and in peace but everyone knows that as a doctor you don't get much of it in the hospital. She remembered one place in the building where she usually went after Derek died to get her thoughts away from drugs or alcohol. The chapel. Amelia wasn't a religious person, she didn't believe in God. Not after everything that has happened to her. But she found peace in there. It was usually empty so she would go in and clear her head. And that's what she did. She opened the door and saw that no one was in it. She walked to the altar and lit 4 candles. Amelia took a deep breath and sat down. Her thoughts were interrupted when April came in.

"Hi. Sorry to bother you, I know people come to pray here but…"

"I don't pray." answered Amelia quickly.

April was surprised at her response a little but she didn't give it much importance. "I wanted to thank you for back then when we talked and you said not to run from my problems. It was hard at first but I think Jackson and I are really getting better. I finally feel like everything is going to work out… Somehow." April smiled. "And as I see no running has done you some good too. You and Hunt seem really great together."

Amelia's eyes were getting full of tears. She quickly and coldly responded (while she could). "No problem."

Although Amelia wasn't looking at April, April could see the tears in her eyes. "Is everything alright?"

"Everything is just perfect." said Amelia, her voice already shaky and her tears finally coming down her cheeks. She managed to wipe them away with her hand and keep it together for some seconds but then they just started to pour and she couldn't help but cry loudly.

April didn't know what to do. She put her hand on Amelia's back and stroked her. "Hey, what's wrong?" asked the red-haired doctor gently. "Shhh, everything's going to be fine."

Amelia couldn't get a word out of herself, she just kept crying until it felt like she ran out of tears.

"Are you ok, what happened?" asked April again, with her very soft voice.

"I…" Amelia took a few deep breaths. "I don't know why I'm crying this bad… I haven't cried like this before. Actually I've barely cried so I don't know why it's different this time."

April didn't understand what she was talking about but she kept listening.

Amelia finally let it out. "My son would have been four today." She smiled at the thought of her son.

April truly felt and understood Amelia's pain. She felt the same on the birthday of her little Samuel. "I don't know what to say, this thing is really new to me… What I do know is that God is keeping an eye on him. And I know he would be glad to have you as a mom."

Amelia looked at April as she said those words. She felt embarrassed to burst in front of April. Again… But their history was so similar and April was probably the only one Amelia could talk to about this. No one else could understand. Although Amelia did not believe in God, April's words seemed to calm her down and make her feel better. "I'd probably be the worst mother material but thank you any way. And excuse me for bringing my crap to you again, it's just that…"

April interrupted her. "No one else understands. I get it." She put a little smile on.

"Just so you know, you are more than welcome to talk to me… if you ever have any problems or just random stuff going on." Amelia really meant that. She wouldn't pick April as one of her friends if she just met her. But knowing her history made her see April in a totally different light than everyone else did.

"Thanks." smiled April, grateful for the offer. The two women just stayed at the chapel for some time. April was probably praying and Amelia was thinking about her life. She was thinking about her dead baby, her dead father, her dead fiancée, her dead brother, well actually brothers. She always counted Mark as one of her siblings. She lost every man she loved. Amelia was terrified to lose Owen. She couldn't survive losing another man. She started to ask herself if she's some kind of a death angel that kills everyone around her. Maybe Owen will die too. Who knows what could happen?! She could feel her stomach twist only thinking of it.

xxx

It was the end of Amelia and Owen's shift. She wished she could have had more time to think and gather her words before talking to him but time was obviously not her best friend. They met in front of the elevators. They greeted each other with a 'hey' but they could both feel the air getting tense. The elevator doors finally opened and they stepped in. The elevator was quite crowded this time of the day and today wasn't any different. Amelia and Owen's fingers gently touched and she finally took his hand and consequently, he did the same with Amelia's. He was surprised at her action because for the whole day he thought she was mad at him for an unknown reason. He was clearly wrong. They got off the elevator and walked towards the parking lot with their hands still holding. They got into the car and Owen just wanted to start the engine. Amelia's thoughts were running crazily, she had a mini panic attack inside of her going on! "Owen, stop!"

He stopped and looked at her. Owen could sense the worry in her voice. "What's going on?"

"I don't want to lose you." said Amelia, barely talking without crying at the same time.

He turned to her and looked her in the eyes. "What? You will never lose me." answered Owen, surprised at what she said. He wondered if he did something to make her worry about that.

"Don't say that, you don't know that, you cannot be sure! Every man around me seems to die sooner rather than later, even my baby!" Amelia sobbed. "He would be 4 today but he isn't. I'd be scared to death if I were you!"

Owen realized why Amelia was acting so strange the whole day. Four years have passed since her baby died. Owen pulled her closer. "Amelia…"

She realized she just yelled at him in the car in the middle of the parking lot. _Well done, Amelia._ She felt embarrassed and she couldn't understand where all of her anxiety and sudden sadness was coming from. Of course it would be her son's birthday but she was never like this. She would get sad but she would never get this sad and emotional. "Damn it, I sound like a crazy person." She covered her eyes with her hands. "I swear, I don't know what has gotten into me, I was never like this on this day…"

"It is fine, you get to be sad as much as you want. Maybe you're taking it a bit harder this year because of Derek plus your mom is here… I don't know. But however you feel is ok." He sighed. "And you're right, I cannot be sure of what happens to me but I survived Iraq, I'm pretty sure I can handle Seattle." He joked a little to make her feel better and he succeeded, he made her smile.

"I'm really sorry about what I said to you this morning." She finally looked him with her blue eyes.

"You know what, why don't we get dinner somewhere nice and forget about it?" winked Owen.

Amelia smiled but she wasn't too fond of the idea. "I'd love to but I don't really feel hungry right now. I don't know, in the mix of all the things that happened today I seem to lose my appetite. What about some other day, my treat?"

"It's a deal." smiled Owen and finally started the car. "Uhm… I have something to tell you."

"What?"

"I know this is so off topic but still… Do you remember that 2-bedroom apartment with an office in the yellow block of flats we liked the most?"

"Yeah…" Amelia wasn't sure where this conversation was leading to.

"Well, I made a deposit today and if everything goes as planned, it will be ours."

Amelia just stared at him.

"I know I should have asked you before but we liked it so much and I really need to move out of that trailer."

Amelia smiled. "It's fine. I can't believe you lived in that thing for so long to be honest."

"So you're not mad at me? Because I'd get if you wanted to wait with moving out of Meredith's house." said Owen worriedly.

"Really, I'm not. I'm not sure if I want to move right away though but I'd definitely like to come over for sleepovers."

Owen laughed. "You are more than welcome."

"And since we're talking about sleepovers… Would you mind if we don't sleep together tonight? I kind of want to spend the evening catching up with my mom."

"Not a problem. I'm so tired I'll probably fall asleep as soon as I lay down any way."

The rest of the car ride the two spent talking about how they were planning to decorate _their_ apartment. The conversation seemed to take off their minds from the car ride since they were already in front of the house. They kissed goodbye and Owen drove away as she entered the house.

xxx

Amelia locked the door. The lights were on in the living room and Carolyn was feeding the baby with Zola helping. "Hi!" greeted Amelia. Zola put her finger on her mouth and whispered "Shhhh."

Carolyn tried to explain the situation, also whispering. "Hello darling. Try not to make any noise, Bailey caught the stomach flu Zola supposedly had last week and Meredith barely got him to sleep. And Bailey passed it on to Meredith, so they're both down for the night."

Zola explained further on. "Grandma and I are feeding Ellis so she doesn't get sick and puke in my room like Bailey did. It still doesn't smell nice."

Amelia nodded and understood why she got shushed. "Poor Bailey and your mom. Do you want to sleep with me tonight? I promise it doesn't smell in there."

Zola loved Amelia and she was more than excited to spend the night with her aunt. "Yaaaay, a sleepover!"

It was Amelia who shushed the girl now. "I'll take a shower and you can bring your pillow to my bedroom meanwhile."

Zola nodded, kissed her baby sister and silently went to her room. Amelia went to her bedroom. She got her clothes off and got into the shower. Today was a rough day. Every May 15th was a rough day but this year it was rough on a whole new level. The cold shower seemed to help though. She felt kind of better afterwards. She put on some pajamas and as she got out of the bathroom, an eager Zola was waiting for her in her bed.

"Hey Zo, have you been waiting a long time for me?"

"No. I brought my pillow but forgot my toys and I had to bring them all so they are not alone."

Amelia smiled as she saw her bed full of stuffed animals. "They will certainly not be alone now."

Out of nowhere, Zola asked her aunt. "Is my daddy alone?"

Amelia was surprised at her niece's question and at first did not know how to respond. She crawled into the bed and felt a lump in her throat. Zola remembered her so much of herself. She was also so young when she lost her dad. Amelia would forget to answer if Zola weren't staring at her, waiting for an answer. "No sweetie. He is in heaven now with a lot of other good people. My daddy, your grandpa is in heaven too. They are both watching us two now."

Zola seemed satisfied with the answer but at the same time, she wanted to know more. "Are they also watching Bailey and Ellis and mommy and grandma?"

"Of course. They're watching them and all your aunts and your cousins… everyone."

Zola quietly nodded and seemed to be thinking something through. She didn't really get death in a literal way, it seemed better and less painful from a child's perspective. "Grandma told me I have lots of cousins but I don't know them all. Who are they?"

Amelia remembered that Zola didn't actually meet all of her cousins yet. Some came to Derek's funeral but that's not really a place to meet and bond. Her son would have been her cousin too and they would be so close to age. Amelia quickly got her mind of her son. "They are the children of your daddy's sisters and of your mommy's sisters. I know your mommy's sister Molly has a daughter and she is your cousin. Well, your daddy's sisters have 15 of them." Zola was surprised at the big number her aunt had just told her. She only knew numbers from 1-10 so 15 seemed enormous for her. "Your aunt Nancy has 4, one boy-David and three girls-Anna, Rebecca, Audrey and Kayla."

"I know David, he is the biggest!"

"Yes, he is very tall and grown up. Your aunt Kate has 6 children and they are all girls. Natalie, Olivia, Madison, Zoey, Julie and Evelyn. Olivia and Madison are the ones who really look alike, remember?" Zola nodded. "And then there's your aunt Lizzie who has 4 boys. Luke, Brady, Max and Nolan."

"Would they play with me?" asked Zola.

"Well, Nancy and Kate's kids are already big and grown up so I don't know it they play anymore but Max and Nolan are just a little bit older then you, I'm sure you would get along."

Zola opposed. "No! I don't like to play with boys!" But Zola didn't stop there, she quickly asked her aunt. "Auntie Amy, will you get me a cousin to play with?"

Amelia's jaw dropped. It wasn't an unusual question for a 5-year old. 5-year olds want brothers and sisters and cousins, the problem was that Amelia did not know how to explain her whole messed up baby situation. She just stared at her niece, not a word coming out of her. She felt her stomach twist and she excused herself and went to the bathroom. Amelia knew she was going to throw up so she opened the water tap to prevent Zola from hearing her. Her stomach felt better afterwards but she felt a bit dizzy. She leaned over the sink for some seconds and put some water on her face. Amelia remembered she left Zola in her bedroom so she better return. When she returned, her niece was already asleep. In contrary to Bailey, Zola was a heavy sleeper. That girl could fall asleep in a second and not wake up even if the house was on fire. Amelia smiled at Zola and covered her with a blanket. She decided to go into the kitchen to make herself some tea. That should calm her down after a rough day she had.

"Is she asleep already?" asked Carolyn.

"Yes, I swear one second she's looking at you and the next one she's already asleep." smiled Amelia.

Carolyn nodded. "Are you okay, you look a bit pale?"

"Oh, I'm fine I just had a long day… A lot of patients…" lied Amelia. She didn't want to explain everything to her mother.

"Well, make sure you eat and drink a lot of water."

"I know mom, I'm a doctor, remember?"

"I know and I'm a mother, remember?" Carolyn returned the statement and Amelia couldn't help but laugh at how her mother still treated her like a child sometimes. It was annoying but cute at the same time. "Is Owen not coming tonight?"

"No, he's staying at his place tonight. I asked him to so we could have some time to talk. I feel really bad for not being able to spend more time with you but there's so much to do in the hospital, it just…"

"It's fine, I raised five doctors, I get it. It's not a big deal, really." smiled Carolyn. She truly did understand all of her children and their jobs.

"I know you understand it, it's just that…" Amelia sighed.

"What?"

"I've been meaning to ask you something. Well not really ask, I want to tell you something."

"Ok. What is it about?"

"It's about me and Owen. We found an apartment." Amelia felt really nervous about this.

"So the two of you are planning on moving in together?"

"Well… I don't know. That was the plan but it just seems wrong to move out of here. Derek and Meredith and the kids have been my close family for a while and I can't just walk away after all that has happened. It may seem silly but I feel like I'm betraying Derek by leaving his family and moving in with Owen."

Carolyn looked at her little girl who wasn't that little anymore. She has changed so much. "And they will still be your family even if you leave. Always. But you have to put yourself first sometimes. You need to have a life of your own, you cannot be stuck in theirs. Maybe it's time you get away from them a little. I'm not saying you should move out and never talk to them again, certainly not. But you should start creating your own life, whether that means you and Owen or just you or… whatever. Another thing I am saying is that as much as your sisters and you don't want to admit it, you all miss each other. You haven't really talked with one another for years. I know Derek loved you and the kids adore you but your sisters love you just as much. And your nieces and nephews really do miss their aunt." Carolyn felt guilty while talking to Amelia about her family. She felt responsible for not holding the family closer together.

Amelia, on the other hand, was feeling even guiltier when her mother mentioned her sisters and her nieces and nephews. Amelia missed them too. _As much as she didn't want to admit it._ She didn't say anything about her sisters. Amelia didn't want to promise her mother she would call them, although now she was really thinking about it. "I don't know mom… Sometimes I just think if it's too early for us to move in together? I mean, we have known each other for 2 years now so you could say we know each other but we've been together just a little more than 2 months…" Amelia sighed.

"Well if it makes you less doubtful your father and I got married after barely two months of dating and then we moved in together. A year later, we already had Nancy. Of course there are some disagreements but if you really love each other you can overcome anything."

Amelia didn't have many memories of her father but she remembered that her parents were always happy. She would have said something about her father but today was really not the right day so instead she joked back. "Are you saying I should marry Owen before we move in together and then we should have a kid?"

"Oh please Amelia, you know what I want to say. Plus you know I'm not that conservative. I know how it goes, you two probably haven't been watching TV for the past two months and cuddling in bed, have you?" Amelia was a grown woman but she couldn't help but blush. "You don't really have to answer that." Smiled Carolyn. "And as far as the kid thing goes believe me, you never really feel ready for it."

Amelia knew Carolyn's last statement was more than true. When she found out she was pregnant, she felt like crying and she did, she didn't think she was capable of raising a child on her own. When she finally got happy about it, the happiness did not last long. Amelia didn't realize she hasn't said anything until her mother was waving her hand in front of her. "Sorry, I was just thinking… I should probably tell Meredith about me moving out." The water for the tea was boiling. Amelia stood up and went there to prepare some tea. "Do you want a cup?"

"No, thank you, I'll go straight to my bed. And yes, you should tell her. I'm glad we got to talk." smiled Carolyn.

"Yeah, me too. Good night."

"Good night."

Amelia smiled back, took her cup of tea and took it with her to her bedroom. Zola was still sound asleep. Amelia took her phone and texted Owen. _Hey, I hope I didn't wake you up. I'll tell Mer we're moving in together. xo._ She immediately got a reply. _It was worth waking up for ;) kisses_

Amelia smiled at the text and slowly drifted to sleep.

xxx

Here it was! I really feel there should be more interaction between Amelia and April on Grey's since they have a similar history so I decided to put a little bit of it in my story. As you may have noticed, I also love Carolyn and Amelia's relationship with her,

SPOILER ALERT!

More old faces to appear ;) Who do you think they are?


	6. Chapter 6

Hi everyone. I hope you are still reading this. I haven't posted for more than a week, I know. I am reeeeaaally sorry! But the good thing is that I don't have any exams anymore and I was actually able to write quite a lot so I'll publish more frequently!

Well, as always-enjoy!

xxx

The last few days went on pretty ok. Amelia decided to spend the last days with Carolyn in Seattle in a family circle. She took some days off since she worked so many hours after Derek died that she could probably take a 1 month long vacation. She spent her days with her mother, her nephew and nieces. Well, mostly nieces, since Bailey and Meredith were pretty much isolated from the others so they wouldn't infect them. Amelia also told Meredith that she would be moving out as soon as they get the apartment ready. Meredith got used to having Amelia around. One would think that she would feel relieved when Amelia told her she's moving but to be honest, she had a panic attack going on inside her. Meredith knew how to handle Zola and Bailey when Derek moved do D. C. It was hard at first but then she didn't have any problems handling them. But now she had another child. A baby! Amelia was always available to babysit or just look after them while Meredith was taking a shower and soon this won't be possible anymore. Even though Meredith and Amelia had their share of fights in the past, they always seemed to somehow make it right for the kids. How the heck can she handle three children completely on her own now? There was this one voice inside her telling her to panic and cry and drink and yell and the other one, who understood that Amy is moving. She's a grown woman, Meredith surely didn't expect that she would stay with them forever. Meredith of course told Amelia she was ok with her moving out but she kind of hoped she wouldn't go too far. She had _her people._ She had Alex, Maggie and even Callie and Arizona but it was weirdly different with Amelia. She could talk about her crap to them but when it got to her kids, Amelia was the person she trusted the most.

Amelia was happy that Meredith took her news well. She didn't expect her to overreact or anything but Amelia needed her to be ok with that. Owen and Amelia also officially got the apartment and they already had all old furniture removed. The only thing they kept as it was, was the bathroom which has just been renovated and the kitchen which had a lot of counters. The apartment had one main bedroom, one guestroom and a medium sized office. It also had a big living room that was connected to the kitchen and the dining room. They decided they were going to repaint everything on their own. They were really enthusiastic about renovating and decorating their new apartment. The two decided to start right away when Carolyn left.

Amelia and Owen took all of the paint cans to their apartment. They decided to paint the living room-which was connected to the kitchen and dining room- in kind of a beige colour.

"Did we bring everything up?" asked Amelia while she sat down on the floor.

"Yeah, that's all of it. If we get started right away we could have it finished by dinner." answered Owen who was already opening one can.

"Great." Amelia stood up and suddenly she felt dizzy.

Owen noticed her strange behavior and held her by her hips. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah… I'm fine. It's probably the fresh paint smell, it's really strong." Owen wasn't completely convinced with her answer. "Really babe, I can handle standing on my own." smiled Amelia. Ever since that patient called Owen a babe, she couldn't help but call him that. At first it was funny and she just teased him but later she became used to it and called him babe very frequently.

"If you say so." smiled Owen. "So, should we start with this wall?"

"Sure."

They were painting the whole time and at the end of the day they were really satisfied with the result.

"If I ever fail as a doctor at least I know what to do." laughed Amelia.

Owen laughed back at her. "We did a pretty good job. Come on, let's leave this to dry and get to the trailer for dinner and some sleep then."

"Yeah, let's. I'm starving!"

They went to their car and as they were driving home, Amelia's phone vibrated. She looked at her screen with her mouth open. It was her app, reminding her that she is 1 day late. Amelia was never late. At least not when she was sober and healthy.

"Everything ok?"

"Uhm… Yeah… It's just Edwards, asking about a patient…"

"Oh, ok."

Amelia's thoughts were running crazily. She was a doctor so she knew that being a day late didn't mean anything. But she had this weird feeling, actually more of a scare. Could she be… She couldn't even say it in her mind. _Calm the hell down. You'll be bleedin' down there in no time. 1 day doesn't mean anything._ Amelia was calming herself as they got to the trailer.

"I was thinking of making some pasta, what do you think?"

"It sounds great." politely answered Amelia, although her thoughts were in a completely different place right now. Throughout the whole 'cooking and eating process' she was talking to Owen, trying not to make him worried. Heck, she was probably trying not to make herself worried. Owen knew her very well by now so she knew she wasn't going to be able to hide this from him for a long time. _What am I even hiding? Is there even anything to hide?_ They got cleaned up and ready for bed. Amelia played the pretend game along the way. "I'm so tired, who knew painting for some hours could be more tiring than cutting into brain for the whole day."

"Is it, huh?" smiled Owen, with his hand in Amelia's hair.

"What? Are you saying you're full of energy?" teased Amelia.

"Definitely not, but I have something left." Owen started kissing her neck.

Amelia rolled on her side, turning away from him and laughed. "No go mister, except if you want to have dirty sex with a poor, innocent, sleeping girl."

Owen kissed her on her cheek. "Definitely better when the poor, innocent girl is not asleep." He put his hand over her body.

She smiled, letting him know that she was still listening to him. Owen quickly drifted to sleep while Amelia was still waiting for her thoughts to calm down. If it weren't for her tiredness, she would probably still be overthinking everything.

xxx

"Hey, can you do a quick consult on a mom? She was in an accident, she's fine but she's panicking and she insists she has to be checked by neuro." cheerfully asked Arizona when she saw Amelia walk into the ER.

"Sure. Where is she?"

"Bed 3. Thanks, I owe you!"

Amelia smiled as she was handed the tablet with the woman's chart on. She quickly went through it while walking towards her patient. "Hello Mrs. Pirello, I'm dr. Shepherd from neurosurgery. Dr. Robbins said you were in a car accident."

"Neurosurgery? Is something wrong with my brain, am I dying?!" the patient's BP went up.

"No, no, no. I'm just here to do a routine checkup. Follow the light." explained Amelia while already checking her up. She checked her eyes, hands, reflexes and everything seemed fine. "And as I see you are perfectly fine."

"So there's no way anything could be wrong with me or the baby?"

"No. As I see, you're ok and if dr. Robbins cleared you, then I wouldn't doubt it. She is one of the best." reassured Amelia the patient.

The woman gratefully smiled and put her hand on her belly. This quick consult made Amelia forget about herself for a moment but as soon as it was over, it hit her again. She needed to find out what was going on right now. Amelia quickly walked through the ER, hoping no one needs her right now and went into a supply closet for a pregnancy test. She took two, just to be sure. She took a deep breath before putting them into her pocket in her lab coat. She went straight to the bathroom and peed on both of them. The instructions said to wait two minutes. In two minutes, Amelia will find out if she's carrying Owen's child. The thought of that made her happy and yet so scared. While she was waiting for the results, she thought of what she was going to do if she truly were pregnant. Should she tell Owen immediately? Should she get her blood checked and an ultrasound before she mentions this to him? What if her story repeats itself and she will be broken again and so will he. The decision was made, she wasn't going to say anything till she knew her baby was healthy. As she was thinking what to do, her phone beeped. Two minutes have passed. Amelia has never felt this nervous her whole life. The moment of truth was right in front of her. She looked at the first test. _Pregnant._ The other test had two lines, which meant positive. _Crap._ This was all getting too real. When some interns came to the bathroom she quickly put the two tests in her pocket and stormed off to her office. She shut the door behind her and took some steps up and down. She didn't have the slightest idea how to feel about this. Amelia wanted kids and Owen wanted them too. She was sure he would be happy about it, thrilled actually. But it was different for her. One part told her to be happy and the other one told her to worry. Amelia didn't know what to do. She couldn't tell Owen. At least not yet. What if her history repeats itself and she isn't the only one who gets hurt, now he gets hurt too. She couldn't stand going through what she had to 4 years ago. With that in mind, Amelia suddenly made a decision.

xxx

Amelia knocked on the door on which said _Chief of surgery._ She opened the door and asked. "Hi, do you have a minute?"

Dr. Bailey who was now the new chief of surgery responded. "Yeah but only a minute, then I'm off to a meeting."

"Ok, I'll be quick. I need today and tomorrow off."

"But you were just off for a week? Is everything ok?" asked Miranda while picking some files from her table.

"Everything's fine. I just… I need to go to LA for a day. To visit Addison. And the others."

"Oh. It's fine by me, you worked for many extra hours and everyone else on neuro is available so there isn't any problem."

"Great. Thank you!" Amelia was relieved. She almost walked out of Bailey's office when Bailey interrupted her.

"Say hi to Addison for me, will you?"

"Sure." smiled Amelia.

xxx

Amelia almost forgot how hot it could get in LA. She was in a heated cab, driving to her former workplace. Only then did she remember she hasn't said anything to Owen. _Shit._ She quickly grabbed her phone from her purse and sent him a text message. _Hey, had to go to LA. Kind of urgent but don't worry, everyone is fine ;) I'll be home tomorrow evening and explain everything. Love you._ She felt guilty. Amelia really hoped that Owen wouldn't make a big deal out of it. As she was driving from the airport she thought about what she was going to say to her friends. They knew her too well and appearing out of nowhere just to say hi would be suspicious. And she definitely couldn't tell them the real reason why she's here. As she was getting closer and closer to Seaside health and wellness she seemed to lose all the ideas about why she is visiting she had in her head. When she got out of the cab, she took a deep breath and just viewed the building. "Well, here goes nothing." said Amelia to herself while entering the building. She got into the elevator where she found a familiar face.

"Amelia?"

She turned around and saw a young boy standing right beside her. "Mason? Is that you? Oh my god, you're so grown up and tall and… I didn't even recognize you."

"I guess I changed a little since we last saw each other." smiled Mason. "Momma and dad haven't told me you were coming to visit."

"Yes… I'm kind of here for a surprise visit, nobody knows I'm coming."

"Oh. Cool."

"Yeah… Cool." said Amelia nervously while the elevator was getting up to the right floor.

"Well I think everyone is still in, except Violet and Sheldon, they are at a shrink conference or something."

Amelia was actually relieved that the two of them wouldn't be there. She really didn't need two shrinks reading right through her. "Great. I mean, too bad that they aren't here but I'm glad everyone else is." lied Amelia.

The elevator doors opened and the first person Mason and Amelia saw was Charlotte. She was reading some messages at the reception when the two of them came.

"Look who I found." said Mason, walking towards Charlotte with Amelia.

Charlotte turned around to greet Mason and she couldn't believe Amelia was standing in front of her. "Amelia!" smiled the blonde and hugged Amelia. "You sure know how to surprise people!"

"Hey Charlotte, how's it going?" politely asked Amelia.

"Much better with you here." She still couldn't believe Amelia was in LA. "Plus the girls are just over with the flu so I actually feel blessed."

Mason interrupted them. "Uhm… I'd hang out with you two but I have a lot of homework to do, so is it ok if I go to your office?"

"Sure, go ahead. We'll go to the kitchen, everyone will be thrilled to see Amelia." responded Charlotte. Mason walked away in the direction of her office while the two women walked towards the kitchen.

"So what brings you here?" asked Charlotte directly.

"Am I not allowed to visit my friends?"

"Sure you are but… you didn't even return my calls for the past week and now you just stop by?" Charlotte knew Amelia too well.

Amelia knew this wasn't going to be easy. "Well I've been meaning to come for a visit." Quickly answered Amelia. "And I haven't returned any of your calls because my mom came to visit." Lied the doctor. She didn't return any of her calls because she wasn't capable of talking to Char.

Charlotte would probably ask more and consequently find out more but they just got to the kitchen. They were about to walk in when Sam rushed out. "Amelia?" he hugged her. "It's great to see you. I'd love to hear more of you but I just got a page from the ER."

"Sure, we'll catch up, you run." smiled Amelia.

They entered the kitchen where Jake and Cooper where hanging out. Charlotte came in first. "Look who Mason found in the elevator."

Jake and Cooper happily welcomed Amelia back. They were talking and catching up for a little while.

"Have you already seen Addison?" asked Jake. "I'll go get her, she should be done with her patient now."

"I haven't. And don't bother, let me surprise her! You guys probably have patients so we'll talk later, ok?" smiled the brunette. "It's great to be here."

As she walked from the kitchen, she hoped she wasn't too bubbly and… weird. She didn't need anyone asking what's wrong. She stopped in front of Addison's office and took a deep breath. Amelia didn't want anyone in Seattle to know she was pregnant and she really didn't want to explain her past problems or pregnancy. She also felt uncomfortable discussing this with Addison but she was the only person who wouldn't ask too much because she knew all of this. Jake knew all of this too and she could have chosen him but Amelia was closer to Addison than to Jake. And she was definitely the best ob/gyn in the West coast.

She finally knocked on the door. "Hi stranger."

Addison was doing some paperwork and she looked up. "Amelia?!" She stood up and almost ran towards her former sister-in-law. "When did you get here? Why didn't you call, I could have picked you from the airport?" The two women hugged.

"Well, I thought why not surprise you if I could." smiled Amelia and returned the hug.

"You look great. I really missed you."

"Me too. And sorry for the way I've been acting, I just… It was hard after Derek…"

"I know."

Addison and Amelia just looked at each other for some time.

Addison finally broke the silence. "So, what brings you here? As much as I am happy to see you, I know you. You are not the kind of person who would take their day off to go visit someone." Addison knew Amelia better than most people.

Amelia was taken aback from how quickly Addison knew that this was something more than just a visit. But at the same time she was actually grateful that Addison started this because frankly, she didn't know how to say why she was really here. She just stared at Addison, not actually knowing how to ask her for an ultrasound.

"Amelia?" Addison crossed her hands and waited for a response.

"Yeah… I have a reason." She sighed. "I need you to promise me you are not going to mention this to anyone. And I mean anyone, not even Jake."

"You are freaking me out, what's wrong?"

"No, nothing's wrong, don't worry. At least not yet…" Amelia remembered the last time Addison gave her an ultrasound.

Addison looked at Amelia weirdly, still not knowing what she was trying to say.

Amelia closed the door. "I need a consult."

"Ok…"

"And by consult I mean an ultrasound."

Addison widely opened her eyes.

"Please don't say anything. I haven't even told Owen yet. And if I went to get checked in Seattle everyone would be suspicious plus I'd have to tell my history to a random ob/gyn and I really didn't want to do that. I am freaking out Addison because I swear if anything goes wrong this time…"

Addison cut her off. Her face was full of excitement, more than Amelia wanted. "Shut up and let's get you checked. I can't test your blood and urine because it's better to do that in the morning but the ultrasound is waiting in the exam room. All alone. Waiting for us."

"Won't the others…"

"No, they all have patients now and I doubt they'll need the ultrasound. And besides, they have another room with one. Come on."

Amelia took a deep breath. "Ok."

The two women went directly to the exam room. Addison locked the door, just in case.

"So how far along do you think you are?"

"4 weeks, probably 5 since my cycle is quite long." responded Amelia while lying down.

"Okay. It's most likely I won't see anything clearly on the ultrasound yet. When was your last period?"

"Uhm… April 19th."

"Ok, well let's see what's going on."

Amelia couldn't look at the screen, she couldn't handle seeing something wrong with her baby. Addison's eyes widened as she looked to the screen.

Addison said: "Actually why don't we do it on your stomach."

Amelia looked at Addison and panicked. "Why? Is something wrong?!"

xxx

Sooo.. did you like it? What do you think Addison detected on the ultrasound? Leave me your reviwes. :)


	7. Chapter 7

First of all, thank you for all your lovely reviews. I am really glad you like this story and you are still keeping up with it. :) Here is a new chapter, finally some baby news!

xxx

"Relax, nothing seems to be wrong, I just think we'll get a better picture this way."

Amelia obeyed Addison and pulled up her shirt so her belly was exposed. Addison put some gel on it and started. Amelia still couldn't look on the screen.

Addison smiled as she got a nice view of the baby. "Hi baby!" Amelia felt relieved when she heard Addison's voice but she just couldn't get herself ready to look at it. Addison turned the screen to Amelia. "Look at this one, he or she looks perfect."

Amelia finally turned her head and looked to the screen. She couldn't believe what she saw. It was her baby. And it was perfect. Addison got a pretty nice view and the first thing Amelia checked was the head. It was not as clear as she wanted but there it was - a small, round, little head. This was surreal. Though, she noticed something that bothered her. "Addison, I know I'm not an OB and I'm not an expert at reading ultrasounds but isn't the baby kind of big for 5 weeks?"

"That's what I was meaning to ask you. The measurements put the baby at 11 weeks. Are you sure about your last period?"

"Yes. I mean it was very light and it lasted only 3 days which seemed weird to me but you know, every period is a bit different…"

"In that case, it's more likely that you were spotting and that wasn't a period. Have you had any symptoms or anything?"

"No, not really. I did feel dizzy sometimes but nothing else." In contrary to before, Amelia couldn't get her eyes off the screen now.

"No morning sickness and you're not even showing. Wait till Charlotte hears that." joked Addison while remembering Charlotte's pregnancy.

Amelia caught herself staring at the screen and she realized she already got attached to her unborn child. "Are you sure everything is fine? I mean is the head…"

Addison knew what Amelia wanted to ask. "Anencephaly is hard to trace in the first semester but I have a pretty good picture. We'll get some blood and urine tests tomorrow morning to be completely sure but everything looks just fine." smiled Addison. "Your due date is December 23rd. I'll print some pictures for you and meanwhile you can get dressed."

Amelia hopped off the bed and got behind the curtain. She was partially happy with her answer. What if the blood tests show something different? Addison was right, how could she diagnose her baby with anencephaly this early?

"I know it's not any of my business but you should tell Owen. He's the dad."

Amelia felt guilty. She hasn't even thought of Owen all this time. She didn't have the courage to look at her phone. Now that she knew everything is ok, she wanted him here. She knew he would be so happy when she told him. "Yeah, I will. Probably tomorrow as soon as I get home."

"By the way, what did you tell him you were going to LA for?"

"I actually haven't really told him." mumbled Amelia.

"You haven't told him you are going to LA?!"

"No… I was way too freaked out and I could barely talk to him normally the evening before so I left him a text..."

"Wow."

"Wow what?"

"I'm surprised he isn't here already. If he left you a message that he's going to I don't know where you would probably worry."

"You might have a point… But hey, you cannot be mad at a pregnant lady." Amelia put a puppy look on her face.

Addison rolled her eyes and smiled. "I really missed you." Amelia smiled back. "Oh, baby pictures!" Addison gave her the pictures and Amelia took a peek at them before putting them in her purse. The idea of _her child_ already made her feel fuzzy and the baby barely resembled a human at this stage. Was she getting too attached to _it_?

xxx

Amelia was staying at Addison's house that night. After dinner she spent the evening playing with Henry. Avoiding Addison and Jake seemed to be the best option right now. Addison would keep glancing at her happily and Amelia couldn't handle that just yet. Maybe she got too excited when she saw her baby on the ultrasound. Nothing is 100% sure yet. Everything could change tomorrow morning. And if anything changes, she couldn't handle Addison looking at her with pity in her eyes like the last time. She tried really hard to stay focused on Henry that evening. She talked with Jake a little but to be honest, she wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone. Being alone with her thoughts or talking with an innocent child was the best she could do.

"I'm going to have to stop the party now." said Addison. "Someone needs to sleep."

"Nooooo!" Henry obviously didn't agree with his mother.

"Hey, no crying. We will get to play tomorrow morning when we're not tired, ok?" smiled Amelia at the little boy who wasn't that little anymore.

Henry wasn't completely satisfied with her answer but he knew that's the best he could get so he agreed. Addison smiled at Amelia. "Thanks." The two of them went upstairs. Amelia stood up from the ground and took a look to her phone. She had 15 missed calls. She didn't check from who they were because Jake interrupted her.

"So you're that type of a girl who prefers rain over sun, huh?"

"What?"

"Addison says it rains a lot in Seattle."

"Oh, right. Yeah, I guess if you compare it to LA it really does." smiled Amelia while still looking to her phone.

Jake noticed her semi-worried, semi-nervous look. "Is everything ok, do you need to call someone?"

"Everything's fine. I just promised Owen I'd call in the evening."

"Addison tells me he's a good guy, I'm glad for you. Well anyway, I'm not planning on interrogating you." smiled Jake. "I got a page at 4am so I am going straight to bed or I'll pass out here." He started walking up the stairs. "Good night."

"Good night."

Amelia waited till she heard the bedroom door close. She finally unlocked her phone and looked at her missing calls. 7 of them were from Owen, 2 from Meredith and 6 from an unknown number. She didn't know why her sister or Meredith would call her but she honestly didn't care. She knew she had to call Owen and explain her sudden departure. She took a deep breath and called.

The phone probably rang only once and Owen already picked up. "Hey, I've been worried sick, is everything alright?"

"Hey. Yes, everything is fine. I promise." She wondered if she should tell him over the phone but she decided not to.

"What happened, why did you go so suddenly?"

"Uhm… It was… Addison called, it was an emergency." lied Amelia. "I had to go but everything is fine. I can't really say anything over the phone but I'll tell you when I get home tomorrow, ok?"

"Fine. Are you sure everything is ok?"

"I am sure babe." smiled Amelia. There was a moment of silence where no one spoke and they just listened each other breathe. Amelia finally spoke, wanting to make Owen less worried. "Hey, do you maybe know why Meredith would call?"

"Meredith was worried where you went. I told her so I guess that's why she called."

"Damn it, I knew I forgot something. Should have told Meredith…"

"Yeah, you should have called us both." Owen didn't sound angry but he was reasonably worried. And right.

Amelia sighed. "Yeah, I know. I'm really sorry." For a few minutes Amelia actually forgot why she was nervous to call him. Then it hit her. She was carrying his child. They were going to have a child _together_. They were together for three months and they were going to have a child. An actual human being who will need his parents and parenting and… She was really freaking out now. She would probably resume with her thoughts if Owen hadn't spoke.

"So when are you coming tomorrow. I'll come pick you up at the airport."

"Oh. Yes. Uhm… My flight gets there at 4.30pm."

"Ok then. I don't want you to think I'm desperate but I really miss you."

Amelia laughed. "Well in that case we're both desperate."

Owen laughed back. "I love you. Good night dr. Shepherd."

"Love you too. Night." Amelia hung up and she felt relieved but at the same time even more nervous. She was glad that Owen was understanding and didn't ask too many questions but she knew that in less than 24 hours he will know. And everything will be real. She walked upstairs into the guestroom in Addie's house. She threw herself onto the bed and put her hand on her belly for the first time since she found out she was pregnant. There was nothing to feel yet but she felt calmer after rubbing it for a while. _Am I getting too attached? What if my blood tests come back completely opposite of what the ultrasound showed? I cannot be this happy and then disappointed again. I can't._ She went to sleep and actively tried not to think about her baby which only made her think about it more. After some hours she finally drifted to sleep.

xxx

This was the day Amelia Shepherd waited for. She was waiting for the results after Addison drew some blood. She was clearly nervous.

"The results will take about 15 minutes, why don't we go to the cafeteria meanwhile?"

"I'd prefer to wait here if you don't mind."

"Sure. Your ultrasound was fine and I'm sure you AFP levels will be normal." She didn't get a response. "I seriously need coffee so I'm just going to get some and then I'll be back. Can I bring you anything?" asked Addison.

"No, thank you." Amelia was staring in front of herself and waiting. She was trying really hard not to start walking nervously down the hall. Addison walked away, knowing that Amelia probably just needs some space right now. Amelia thought of what her life was going to be like from when she gets the results. Either she gets the good news and she starts her own family or she gets the bad news and…

"Amelia?"

Amelia lifted her head and saw a man she knew too well. "James." She stood up.

"You're back?" asked the man.

"No, no, I'm not. Just visiting."

"Oh. I heard about your brother, I'm sorry."

Amelia looked at him. "Thank you." She would normally be more nervous and awkward around James but she couldn't get her mind off the fact that in a few minutes she will find out if her baby is alright and healthy.

James was looking at her but she was obviously not interested in talking to him. He decided to leave. He didn't say goodbye and Amelia didn't even notice it. She spent some time sitting alone, with a blank mind before Addison came back.

"Hey, I'm here, I'm here. What did I miss?"

"Uhm… James was here." mumbled Amelia.

"That must have been awkward."

"Yeah, I guess." answered Amelia with no emotions. Seeing James was the least of her concerns right now.

Addison noticed that Amelia was even more nervous than before. She walked towards the counter to see if her results already came back. A nurse handed her an envelope. There it was. An envelope with Amelia's name on it. She took it and handed it towards Amelia. "Here you go."

Amelia refused to take it. "No. I can't. You look at it and tell me if it's ok or not."

"Are you sure?"

"Please, Addison." begged the brunette with terror in her eyes.

Addison opened the envelope. She took out the piece of paper and closely went through the results. She finally looked to Amelia. "You have about a half a year till you get sleep deprived forever."

"So you're saying…"

"Everything is exactly as it should be. Congratulations!" squealed Addison and hugged Amelia.

Amelia let out a sigh of relief. "Oh my God." She was feeling so many emotions right now. She felt like the happiest person. "Addie, I'm going to have a baby!"

Addison smiled. "Yeah, you are! I am so happy for you."

The two women kept giggling when Charlotte came over. "What are you two so happy about?"

They looked at Charlotte not knowing what to say. Addison didn't say a word because she promised Amelia she wouldn't tell anyone. Amelia stared at Charlotte, trying to figure out some white lie she could tell her. She wanted her to know but she also needed to tell Owen before anyone else. "I… I'm ok." smiled Amelia.

"Yes…" Charlotte wrinkled her forehead. "Either I'm not getting' you or the girls ate my brain in the morning when I was dressin' them."

"All I know is I need to go home to Owen and be happy." She picked her purse. Addison smiled at her friend while Charlotte still didn't know what was going on. "I know, I am weird and bubbly and I'm rambling. I promise I'll call you as soon as I get home but I need to go now." She hugged Charlotte and Amelia was already walking towards the exit with Addison who was taking her to the airport. Charlotte mumbled to herself. "What the hell did that Owen guy do to her?"

xxx

Amelia got off her plane in Seattle and was waiting to claim her baggage. She spent the whole flight thinking of how she would tell Owen. She felt bad enough for Owen not being there for her first ultrasound so she wanted to do something special. The problem was, she couldn't think of anything. Amelia didn't want to do one of those cheesy things that people post on Youtube. She took her baggage and walked off the gate where Owen was already waiting for her. She was so excited and yet so nervous to see him. They only spent a day away from each other but it felt like a week.

"Hey." greeted Owen taking the bag from Amelia's hands.

She didn't say anything, she just kissed him deeply and with tongue.

"I'm glad you're back. How was your flight?" they held hands and starting walking towards the exit.

"Me too. It was fine."

"So is everything ok in LA and with Addison?"

"Why would something be wrong with Addison?"

"You said you left Seattle because she needed you?"

She totally forgot what she had told him. "Yeah, right. About that…"

They got outside and Owen opened the umbrella. "What about it?"

Amelia took a deep breath. "Here's the thing, I need to show you something when we get in the car."

"Ok…" Owen wasn't even expecting what he was about to find out. They walked to the car in silence. Amelia sat down on the passenger seat while Owen put her bag on the back seat. He opened the front door, sat down and closed the door. "What's going on?"

"I'll show you something." She opened her purse and took out her wallet. "No, I actually won't. You take a look at it yourself." She handed him the wallet.

"Did you score in lottery?" joked Owen.

"Shut up!" laughed Amelia. She was closely looking as he was opening her wallet.

"What exactly am I searching for?" asked Owen.

"Just… look." The anticipation was killing her.

Owen finally opened the wallet and her ultrasound pictures fell on his lap. He picked them up and looked at them. His face changed 100 %. It was a mix of surprise, excitement and confusion. Owen opened his mouth and looked to Amelia.

"Oh my God, you're freaking out. I know, I know, it's really soon but I think we can make it work. I was late and I had this weird feeling and then I took a test, well two actually and they were positive. I was freaking out. I went to LA because if something were wrong I couldn't handle hurting you… Addison did an ultrasound and took my blood and… everything is normal. I wanted to tell you in a more special way…"

Owen cut her off. "We're having a baby?!" His eyes were sparkling.

Amelia smiled. "We are."

Owen put a broad smile on his face. "Oh my God, we're having a baby!" He put his hand on her stomach and looked into her eyes.

"Apparently I'm one of those lucky gals who aren't showing yet."

Owen kissed her. "Can't wait till you do. How far along are you? 5, 6 weeks?" He was obviously confused by the size of the baby too but he knew Amelia didn't miss her last period.

"11 apparently. My last period -well at least I thought it was- was actually spotting or I would have known before."

"I can't believe it. This is amazing! I get that you wanted Addison to check you up but why didn't you tell me, I could have gone with you?"

"I know and I feel really guilty about it now. But I couldn't handle getting the bad news again. This time it wouldn't only affect me, it would affect you too. And I don't wish anyone to go through that kind of pain, I couldn't handle be the one hurting you." She looked down.

"You could never cause me pain, Amelia Shepherd. I love you." Owen put his hands on her cheeks and kissed her again. The kiss wasn't that long but it made them calm down and realize that everything was going to be ok. "I guess it was a good idea moving out of the trailer, huh?" laughed Owen.

Amelia laughed. "Perfect timing."

Owen started the car and they finally drove towards home. They slept close that night, with Owen's hand constantly on her belly. Everything felt perfect.

xxx

Woohooo, so Amelia and Owen are getting a baby! :) A healthy one! I decided to end this chapter nicely because we all need some cute and happy Amelia&Owen scenes ;) So no cliffhanger _for now._


	8. Chapter 8

Okay, finally-chapter 8! This one is a bit longer since it involves breaking the baby news to some people and I wanted to fit all of that in one chapter :)

Let me know if you prefer reading longer chapters which I usually post once a week or would you prefer me posting shorter chapters but more frequently.

xxx

"The kid in bed 3 won't need surgery after all." said Amelia to Arizona while handing the chart to a nurse.

"Great. I've been in the OR for the whole day and I am sick of it."

"You're a surgeon." smiled Amelia while they were headed to the attending's lounge.

"Oh, don't get me wrong, I love surgery. I love being a surgeon. What I don't like is not having a pee break in between surgeries and interns constantly paging me. And when I come, it turns out a mom is in labor. A healthy, normal labor that they could almost handle by themselves! Shouldn't the residents deal with interns?"

"So the chicks and ducks aren't that cute anymore?"

"Entertain me with something other than this hospital and the stupid interns." Arizona said desperately.

Amelia laughed and was about to say something when an intern approached them.

"Dr. Robbins…"

Arizona rolled her eyes but remained calm. "Yes?"

"We need you in 340, a mom…"

"You'll tell me on the way there."

Amelia smiled as the two went off. She entered the empty attending's lounge and called Owen.

 _"_ _Hello?"_

"Hey, it's me. How's it going?"

 _"_ _I put the closets and the bed together already. Just have to put the nightstands and then I'm done."_

"You are amazing. I'm already finished, I can come by and help you."

 _"_ _No, no, no. You go home and relax. By the time you come here I'll be finished, really. Plus my mom would kill me if she even heard that the mother of my child has to do any physical work."_

Amelia laughed. "She does know I'm a surgeon, right?" It was kind of funny how protective Evelyn was since she found out Amelia is carrying her grandchild but Amelia weirdly liked it. The fact that Evelyn already loved her grandchild although it didn't even resemble a human being was very comforting for Amelia. Her child will be loved and the idea of that brought peace to her mind. They still haven't told her family and to be honest, Evelyn was the only one who knew. Amelia wasn't afraid that her family wouldn't support her. Her mother would be thrilled but the problem was with her sisters. Amelia knew the looks she would get once she told them she was pregnant. They would look at her like their baby sister who knows nothing and who is fragile and is going to relapse again. She couldn't handle their looks at the funeral. They were acting like Amelia was his only sister and the only one who they need to worry about. She wasn't a hurricane anymore like Nancy once named her. She was a woman in her 30s with a solid career and a loving partner and she couldn't wish for anything else.

 _Owen smiled back. "I'm just saying… She is kind of scary ever since we told her."_

"Yeah well, wait till the baby is born."

 _"_ _That didn't make me feel better." Owen let out a sigh. "So have you decided when or how you want to tell your family?"_

"Uhm… I've definitely been thinking about it…"

 _"_ _Amelia. People around here will notice and sooner rather than later the news will get to New York."_

"I know, I know." Amelia let out a deep breath and decided something. "Will it make you feel better if we tell Mer and the kids today and then I'll call my mom and see if she's home this weekend and I don't know? Maybe we can fly there?" If it was just up to Amelia she would tell Meredith and her mother but she would definitely let her sisters out of it for as long as she could.

 _"_ _Agree. I'll meet you at the house then." Owen sounded calmer and happier._

"Alright. See you."

 _"_ _Bye."_

xxx

Amelia was playing with Bailey and Zola while Meredith was cooking dinner. Yes, she was cooking. It was only pasta, but still, she was quite proud of it.

"Thanks for being with the kids but you are really not obligated to play with them if you're tired after being in the hospital for the whole day."

"How would I not want to play with this two?" said Amelia while kissing Bailey on his cheek. The boy smiled and wiped away her kiss. Amelia stood up and went to the counter towards Meredith. "Have you decided what you're going to do with the house?"

"Sincerely, I don't know. Apparently Jo and Alex are moving to an apartment of their own so he offered to sell me back my old house but I really don't know." She sighed. "To be honest this doesn't feel like home without Derek and that house was my home for so many years. But he built this house just for us, it feels wrong to leave."

There was a moment of silence before Amelia spoke up. "I think he would want you to do whatever makes you feel good." Just as she finished her sentence the doorbell rang.

Zola ran to open it with Amelia right behind her. "Owen!"

"Hey Zo." Owen gave the girl a high five and entered the house. He greeted everyone else and kissed Amelia. The two of them left for her bedroom where Owen changed his clothes. "So, do you want to say something special to them or tell them just right away?"

"Actually, I was thinking Zola might tell them."

"Are you saying you told your niece you're pregnant and she actually kept it a secret?" Owen was confused.

"No Owen, of course not. But when my mom was here Zola was asking me for a cousin. I was thinking I might tell her and she will be excited and tell Meredith. That way there won't be the 'we have some news' awkward-ish moment."

Owen smiled. "Using a 5-year old, clever."

Amelia stood up from the bed she was sitting on. She opened the door and called Zola. Her niece immediately ran in and wondered why aunt Amelia called her.

"Zo, we have something to tell you." said Owen in a serious yet exciting voice.

"Well, actually it's more like… a gift?" continued Amelia.

"A gift?!" Zola had a giant smile on her face.

Amelia knelt down. "Do you remember when grandma was visiting and you slept here with me?"

"Yes."

"Well, do you know what you asked me for?"

Zola scratched her head and didn't seem to remember her wish.

"You asked me for a cousin, remember?"

The girl nodded.

At this point, Owen knelt down too. "We are getting you one. Aunt Amelia and I are having a baby, your cousin!"

Zola's mouth opened and her eyes widened. "I am having a cousin?"

"Yes, you are. He or she is right here in my belly." said Amelia while supporting her barely seen belly.

"This is the awesomest gift ever!" screamed Zola and gently hugged her aunt around her belly. "When will I get a cousin?"

"In December, around Christmas." said Owen, amused by an exciting Zola who was almost jumping.

"Because we know you are going to be a great cousin we wanted to ask you something. Would you tell your mommy that we got you a gift but don't tell her what it is, ask her to guess?" Amelia hoped her niece would be up to this.

"Yes, that will be fun!" Zola already ran through the door, calling for her mom. Owen and Amelia started laughing and went after her.

"Mommy, mommy!"

"What is it?" Meredith was confused at the sudden excitement her daughter was showing.

"Amelia and Owen gave me a gift!" screamed Zola when Amelia and Owen came to the kitchen and stood behind her.

"What kind of a gift?"

"You have to guess!"

"Uhm… I don't know, a toy or a book?" wondered Meredith.

"Nope." simply answered Zola.

"Clothes?"

"Nooooo!" Zola waited for the right answer while Owen and Amelia were nervously laughing.

"I don't know then, why don't you show it to me?"

Zola didn't know how to answer this one. Amelia quickly helped her. "You have it right in front of you."

"Am I not getting something?" Meredith was carefully watching her daughter and everything around her but couldn't seem to get what the big fuss was about.

Zola turned to Amelia and Owen "Can I tell her now?"

Amelia nodded and Zola happily announced to her mom "I am getting a cousin!"

Meredith opened her mouth just like Zola did when Amelia and Owen told her. "Seriously?"

"Seriously." smiled Owen.

"Wow. Oh my God. Congratulations!" Meredith hugged Owen while Amelia hugged and thanked her niece for helping her. Owen moved a bit away from the counter so Meredith could hug Amelia as well. This was probably the first time they hugged but it felt so sisterly like they grew up together. Meredith whispered "Derek would be so proud and happy" in Amelia's ear. Amelia couldn't help but hug her a bit tighter. She hasn't really thought about it but Derek would actually be happy for her. He would be so excited to become an uncle again and he would get to see his niece or nephew grow up. As much as she tried Amelia couldn't help but to start crying at the thought of it.

She pulled apart from Meredith and quickly tried to wipe away the tears before anyone could make a big deal out of it.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that…"

Owen put his hand around Amelia's hips and tried to calm her down. Zola looked confused. "Why are you crying? Are you sad?"

Amelia smiled. "No sweetie, I'm not sad. I'm happy, that's why I'm this weird."

"You're not weird, you're hormonal. And believe me, no one got it worse than I did with Bailey so I think you're doing a pretty amazing job." Meredith tried to comfort her sister-in-law, remembering her random crying outbursts when she was pregnant with Bailey. "Did you tell your families yet? They have to be thrilled." asked Meredith.

"Owen's mom knows but we haven't told my mom or the wolves." joked Amelia, already feeling better after her sudden crying wave.

Meredith laughed. "Your mom will be over the moon. I don't know if I ever told you but Lizzie knew about Bailey before anyone else and she was really excited and supportive. And when Kathleen found out we had to put the phone away from our ears or our eardrums would get perforated due to her screaming."

"Lizzie knew before me? Rude." joked Amelia. "Well, you are not their incompetent baby sister. And Kate and Lizzie aren't anything in comparison to Nance."

Owen joined the conversation. "Oh come on, I bet she isn't that awful."

Meredith and Amelia looked at him at the same time. Meredith said: "Lucky guy, you haven't even met her, she is nothing like the others." Meredith seemed genuinely scared and annoyed by even thinking of McBitchy.

"Well, I'll have to meet her in that case." Owen smiled and looked to Amelia.

She weirdly looked back at him. "Believe me, you don't really want to."

"Hey, you promised we're flying to New York."

Amelia rolled her eyes and said to Meredith. "Mer, you're the witness of how this relationship starts to decay. His fault, not mine."

Owen seemed amused at how sarcastically Amelia and Meredith were talking about Nancy but he didn't have a clue that they were talking the truth. Nancy was definitely something else.

xxx

A few days later, Amelia and Owen were on the plane to NYC. Amelia was more nervous than Owen, although he was meeting some of her family members for the first time.

"Ok, just remember not to mention anything like fur or hunting animals or anything animal related to Kate. She doesn't support any of that and she gets really pissed if someone mentions that and then doesn't stop talking about it."

"You know, just because my surname is Hunt, that doesn't mean I hunt animals for dinner." Owen seemed amused by how nervous Amelia was.

"And no shrink talk. She's a shrink so she'll shrink you back and discover everything. I mean it."

"I chose trauma for a reason, you know?"

"Oh, and don't ask Liz anything about her kids. She won't stop talking either and then she'll just start giving you parental advice. Then she'll start talking the pros and cons about having only sons because she is like the cursed Shepherd with no daughters."

"Ok…"

"And well… don't try to interact with Nancy at all. That's what I usually do."

"I'll be fine. You'll be fine. We will be fine." He looked in her eyes.

"Ok. Ok. We'll be fine." Amelia took some deep breaths.

"Why are you so nervous? You were even more relaxed when we went to tell my mom."

"Because Owen… I was always the black sheep in my family. I was the one who had an illegal piercing in her nose, the one who skipped classes, the one who always came home drunk from parties, the one who was taking drugs, the one…"

"Ames. Stop. You are not that person anymore. You changed."

"People don't change. They just change their actions, their behavior but deep down they are who they are."

"So don't let stupid mistakes define you. Deep down you are who you are. And you're amazing." Owen kissed Amelia's hand.

Amelia leaned to his shoulder and laughed. "That was incredibly profound." She took Owen's hand. "But seriously, don't talk or listen to Nancy too much."

Owen laughed at her comment.

xxx

"You are freaking out, calm down."

Amelia was walking up and down around what used to be her room. The walls were still coloured in a light violet colour and the white closets were still there just like when she still lived here. "Of course I am freaking out, this will all get real Owen, what if we truly won't be able to do this. I mean, I'm the opposite of what a good mother would look like and we've been together just for a little more than 3 months, what if this doesn't work out and…"

Owen stood up and held her by her wrists. "We can do this, we are completely capable of doing this. And many kids would only wish to have you as a mom, you will be amazing, I know it. And yes, we've been officially together for 3 months but we've known each other for two years. And in those two years we overcame so much."

Amelia smiled. This is why she loved him so much. Owen had this charming way of telling her that everything will work out just fine. "It's kind of annoying when you're right."

Owen laughed back just as they heard the doorbell. "Should we go?"

Amelia nervously answered. "Yes, I guess." She took his hand and they went downstairs.

xxx

After quite a normal greeting with her sisters and their husbands, and some catching up everyone sat down and ate dinner. Amelia didn't get any mean remarks _yet_ and she was sure Carolyn had to do something with it. She probably warned all of her daughters to behave, which was kind of funny since they were adults but Carolyn Shepherd was definitely the woman that would do that.

"Has mom shown you any Amelia's childhood pictures yet?" asked Lizzie.

"Yes, she actually did. Although most of them are pretty blurry." answered Owen.

"That's because she couldn't stay still for a second. Taking a picture of her was harder than med school." claimed Kathleen.

Amelia gazed at Kathleen. "Don't exaggerate Kate." She clearly protested.

Owen stepped in. "Seems like you were a lively kid, huh?"

"You have no idea." sarcastically said Nancy. "Truth to be told she was a hurricane." added Nancy, although she knew Amelia hated to be called that.

Amelia felt the need to out sass her older sister so badly right now. She felt Owen's hand on hers. He was trying to tell her to calm down and not say anything but she thought he wanted her to tell everyone about the baby. Amelia knew she would have to mention it at some point this evening and this seemed like a perfect opportunity to tell them and tease Nancy back at the same time. "Hey Nancy, are you still good at figuring out riddles?"

Everyone looked weirdly at Amelia, including Owen. The question seemed a bit off topic and it already confused Nancy a little bit which made Amelia extremely happy. Nancy finally answered with confidence. "Of course, why do you ask?"

Amelia put down her fork. "I have one for you. It's the size of a lemon and you see it every day."

Nancy's forehead wrinkled while she was thinking this one through. "I see many things the size of a lemon every day. Be more specific."

"Hmmm… If it kicks you, you don't feel a thing." Amelia smirked at Owen who was surprised at Amelia's clever way of telling them. Amelia didn't want to do anything special or corny so they decided to tell them the old fashioned way-simply breaking the news. But at this point it was obvious Amelia had taken a different path.

Everyone at the table was trying to figure out what in the world the answer to that riddle was. Amelia hasn't seen her family this confused in a long, long time. Amelia hated to admit it but Nancy was really good at solving puzzles. Her big sister finally spoke up. "Oh. My. God." She looked to Amelia and then to Owen. Both had little smiled on their faces, Owen because of the baby and Amelia probably more due to the little prank she just pulled on her sister.

"What?" Carolyn was more than confused at this point.

"Are you saying what I think you are saying?" Nancy's eyes widened while she looked at the parents-to-be. Everyone at the table seemed even more confused than before.

"Yep." smiled Amelia and proudly continued. "Plus I kind of outsmarted you for a second there."

Nancy was kind of annoying and somehow overprotective over her siblings in a weird way but she always got excited when a new baby was announced to join the family. She was a family person, a baby person, a pregnant lady person, she loved all of this! As an ob/gyn she also felt like bossing the pregnant sister (or sister-in-law) around was her obligation. Nancy got up and was on the way to congratulate Amelia and Owen.

Lizzie's husband asked his wife: "I always knew your sisters were kind of… special… but what is going on?"

"I have no idea."

"This is… wow! Congratulations!" Nancy hugged Amelia and playfully whispered: "Clever, Amy, clever. But I _always_ knew how to solve riddles."

Kathleen interrupted the three of them just when Nancy way congratulating Owen. "Wait, wait, what is going on. Why are you congratulating them? Someone say something!"

"Kate, the things the size of a lemon, that I get to see every day that kick but no one feels it, are babies." Nancy proudly and nonchalantly announced like it was nothing ordinary. "And according to the lemons I'd say Amy is 13, 14 weeks pregnant?" Amelia nodded, kind of annoyed by how quickly Nance put all the facts together and that she called her Amy. Everyone's eyes widened and mouth opened. The Shepherd women shared some -at least to Amelia- weird looks and then let out squeals of excitement. They quickly gathered around Amelia and Owen and congratulated them. Carolyn Shepherd could barely speak. One would think she would stop getting excited after some of her first grandchildren but it seemed her excitement grew with every new grandchild on the way.

xxx

After the guys quickly finished eating dessert, they went to the garage, determined they will fix the broken lawn mower Carolyn mentioned during dinner. Amelia was glad Owen got along with her brothers-in-law and weirdly, even her sisters. It was just Shepherd women in the kitchen now.

Lizzie was putting the last piece of chocolate cake in her mouth. "Uh, this is sooo delicious mom. How come mine is never this good?"

"Because you can't bake." answered Nancy while helping her mother loading the dishwasher.

"I can bake!" opposed Liz.

"You can cook really well but you cannot bake." added Kathleen.

Lizzie looked to Amelia as if she were waiting for her little sister to prove them wrong. "Oh, no, don't look at me. I'm Switzerland."

"Mom?" Lizzie desperately looked towards her mother.

"I'm with Amelia on this one."

Everyone except Liz started laughing. Lizzie sarcastically said. "You're just siding with Amelia because she's pregnant. You did it with all of us."

"I never did that." opposed Carolyn.

"Mom, when I was pregnant with Anna I ate pears with butter. You said it looked delicious." claimed Nancy. The kitchen was full of laughter again, with Carolyn offering a smile to Amelia, kind of accepting the fact that her daughters were right.

"I will go and see if my lawn mower is still alive. I'm getting worried. And no making jokes of your mother while she is gone." Joked Carolyn and headed to the garage.

As soon as their mother left the room Lizzie put her arm around Amelia and spoke up. "I didn't want to ask with mom here because she would stare at it and not let us near but I need baby pictures."

"Oh, sure." She pulled her phone from her pocket. "I figured I'd forget the actual ultrasound pictures which of course I did so I took a picture… of the actual pictures." rambled Amelia while scrolling through her gallery. She finally found them and handed the phone to Liz. Kate and Nancy quickly joined her.

"Oh my God! Hi little one!" Lizzie squealed while looking at the baby that barely resembled a human.

"Oooo, it's been so long since mine were _this_ little." smiled Kate. "What do you want? A boy or a girl?"

"I don't know… it doesn't matter as long as he or she is healthy."

"Come on, don't give us the cliché answer, boy or girl?"

Little did the Shepherd sisters know Amelia didn't really wish for anything else than her baby to be healthy. Everything was ok for now but with her luck anything could still go wrong and despite everything, she was still worried. Besides, Amelia really wasn't sure what she wanted. She always imagined having both. Considering her unicorn baby she thought having a girl would be easier for her but the idea of mini her freaked her out. She couldn't imagine having a daughter just like her. Amelia was a good kid but she wasn't too proud of her teen years. Maybe a mini Owen would be a better fit after all. Amelia realized she still hasn't answered her sisters who were all staring at her, waiting for an answer. Thankfully her mother and the men came back from the garage.

"So it seems something was wrong with the oil." announced Tom, Kathleen's husband.

"Yes, I see. Or should I say smell." she covered her nose.

"Were you guys swimming in it or what? You really need a shower." Lizzie took a step back from her husband. "We should probably go anyway if you agree?" she asked Kate and her husband since they came together. Kate simply nodded as they moving towards the front door. Amelia accompanied them from a safe distance.

Lizzie turned around and hugged her little sis. "It was really nice to see you again." She whispered: "I kind of missed you."

Amelia whispered back. "Me too, Liz."

"My turn." interrupted Kate. "Take care of my niece or nephew and yourself. And don't drive Owen too insane. Call me if you need anything, ok?"

Amelia nodded. After probably two decades Amelia finally felt like they were actually sisters again. They didn't look at her just as the baby of the family who tends to make wrong decisions but as a mature, strong woman. She waved as they were getting in their car and then got back into the house. She instinctively walked towards Owen when a strong, oily smell entered her nostrils. Amelia took a step back. "Actually, I'll go back outside, this smell is just…" She quickly stepped on the front porch of her family house where the fresh air finally got to her lungs. She sat down on the white bench that was there ever since Amelia could remember. She was sitting alone for some moments before Nancy came outside as well.

"Is the smell too strong?" asked Nancy, surprisingly considerate.

Amelia did not expect her sister outside. "Uh… yes."

"Owen got freaked out so I ordered him to get a shower."

"Same old Nance, bossing people around." sarcastically said Amelia.

"Will you say I'm not good at it?" laughed Nancy and sat down beside her. She noticed Amelia was talking deep breaths. "Everything ok?"

"Yeah, yeah. It's just… the smell really bothers me. But I guess I deserve it since I basically had no morning sickness and other annoying thingies. I'll be fine."

"I know." The oldest and the youngest among the Shepherd sisters were just sitting in silence until Nancy started talking. "You know, dad really liked lemons. I remember mom always had to make that disgusting lemon pie which neither of us really liked. He also used to put a lot of lemon in his tea. And he was obsessed with lemonade. Anything lemon-related really." Nancy sighed. "He would have loved the way you told us."

Amelia was surprised at what she was hearing. She never expected her to talk about their father. She actually never expected anyone from her family to talk about him. Thinking about him still hurt after all these years. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because I figured you did not know that. And I saw mom, Kate and Lizzie's look when you mentioned lemons and then I saw yours." Nancy looked to the ground.

"I don't mean to be rude but why are you suddenly this nice and telling me things about dad? When we were all still living here you never wanted to say a single word about him." Amelia still did not get where all of this was coming from.

Nancy took a deep breath and nervously put her hands on her knees before she finally revealed a memory from the past that Amelia was not expecting at all.

xxx

O-oh. What does Nancy have to say to her little sis?

Anyway, thank you for reading and as always-reviews are more than welcome ;)


	9. Chapter 9

Here it is. Finally! Enjoy reading and don't forget to review :)

xxx

"Look, I know I haven't been the perfect sister to you and what I'm about to tell you is not an excuse and doesn't even compare to you and Derek being there when dad was shot…" Nancy stood up. "The day you three left for the store dad and I had a huge fight. Mom and Kate were visiting aunt Linda and Liz was at a birthday party. Dad and Derek had this "man day" thing planned out and I was supposed to stay at home and babysit you. And of course I didn't want to do it because apparently being a teenager who babysits her 5-year old sister wasn't cool enough. We fought and fought and dad and Derek took you with them." At this point Nancy's voice was shaky. Amelia has never seen her sister like this before. "Eventually mom, Kate and Liz came home. Mom started to prepare dinner and Derek and you were brought to the house in a police car. I heard a loud door slamming loudly, which was Derek shutting himself in his room and then your crying from the living room. I came downstairs and no one could get you to calm down. Your big eyes were so red and full of tears. I did not have a clue what was going on and we couldn't get a word out of you until the policeman spoke." Nancy sat back down on the bench. "I could never treat you the same after that. Knowing I could prevent you from seeing what you did… I will never forgive myself for that."

Amelia's eyes were as teary as Nancy's. She probably finally understood why her oldest sister was the way she was. "Nancy… You could not have known."

This was probably the first time Amelia has seen her sister open up and cry. "I know. I know that now. But it took me a long time to get there. And when I did I couldn't just come to you and tell you all of that. I mean when? When you came home high every night? When you crashed Derek's mustang? When you were in the hospital after you died for three minutes? Or in rehab after that? Or when you were finally ok again? I could not let you get hurt again."

Nancy's words hurt. Amelia always felt guilty for what she put her family through. Nancy's intention wasn't to hurt Amelia or make her feel badly, she wanted to apologize for her actions.

"I am sorry."

"So am I."

"You have suffered too much, you know? You lost so many people, especially men… Your baby will be a girl, for sure." Nancy wanted to change the topic because it was all getting too much for them.

"How do you know? Is this one of your special OB skills?" smiled Amelia.

"It's the Shepherd gene. You do know you have 11 nieces and only 5 nephews, right?"

"Maybe I'll end up like Liz, having all boys."

"I doubt it. She only got four of them as payback because she made fun of me when I was pregnant and cranky all the time."

Amelia laughed, remembering that Liz indeed went a little overboard when teasing Nancy while she was pregnant. She also remembered how she probably did not really have 'the Shepherd gene' since she already gave birth to a boy once. Amelia remained quiet and didn't respond to Nancy.

"I'm going to bed now, I'm tired from driving to here." Nancy stood up and gave her sister a kiss on her forehead. "Good night."

"You are staying here?"

"I did drive all the way from Connecticut, you know?" Nancy yawned. "Pretend all you want but once mom and that boyfriend of yours start driving you crazy with constant baby talk, you will be glad to have someone else around."

Amelia smiled and rolled her eyes. "Yes, a sister who happens to treat pregnant women all the time. Talking about my uterus will be fun." sarcastically added Amelia. "Night Nance."

Nancy went inside but Amelia stayed at the front porch for a few minutes, rubbing her little lemon that was now already visible if she wore a tight shirt.

Owen opened the front door and approached her. "Are you feeling better?" He sat down.

" _We_ are feeling much better." answered Amelia while putting his hand on her belly.

xxx

At 16 weeks pregnant, Amelia's baby bump was now clearly visible to everyone. As much as she liked how everyone treated her nicely just because she was pregnant, she hated it at the same time. Amelia was working in a hospital full of doctors, nurses and other medical personal who knew that pregnancy is obviously not a disease but their constant questions like _How are you feeling?_ drove her crazy. She was feeling fine, she was feeling more than fine. Amelia's pregnancy luckily seemed to be a really non problematic one. Except the fact that she couldn't stand the smell of gas, oil or other car related stuff and some occasional food cravings, she felt perfect. Owen and Amelia's relationship was great. They finally moved and settled into the new apartment. Due to Amelia's hormones every room has probably been sex-christened at least 5 times; not that Owen was against that.

"Wow, that was… something." Owen said sweaty and barely catching a breath while lying on the bed in one of the on-call rooms.

"Up for another round?" smirked Amelia. Her pager went off and she looked at it.

"I guess not?"

Amelia sighed. "Why are people always hitting their heads on something?" She was putting her scrubs back on.

Owen took her hand and pulled her closer. Firstly he put his hands on her belly and kissed it and then kissed Amelia. "I will see you later."

"You are making it very hard for me to save lives." said Amelia in a raspy voice while kissing him.

"You're the one who is paging me 911 to the on-call room."

Amelia opened the door. "And you always come running." She winked and closed the door.

xxx

As Amelia got to the ER a nurse called her in a trauma room. Callie and Maggie were working on a woman who was involved in a car crash.

"This leg will definitely need surgery as soon as possible. How's her heart?"

"Normal sinus rhythm but low BP, I want to get in there as soon as Shepherd gets here and checks her head." answered Maggie while listening to the patient's heart.

"Hey, I'm here. What do we have?" Amelia was putting her gloves on.

"34-year Tori Gibson, involved in a car crash, major injuries to her leg. She was down for 13 minutes but Dr. Pierce got her back." answered Stephanie who was working on the case with them. "Only minor superficial head injuries visible, she was conscious and fine before her heart stopped."

"Gibson? That sounds familiar. Let's take a look." Amelia took her flashlight and checked the woman's eyes as silence filled the room.

"Amelia?" carefully asked Callie.

"I'm sorry, there is no response. Edwards, we'll do an exam in 6 hours but she seems brain dead. There's nothing we can do." They all remained silent for a moment, angry that there is nothing they can do. "Does she have family we can talk to?"

An intern responded. "Her mother-in-law is waiting outside. That's the only family she has."

"I'll go talk to her." offered Amelia, seeing the shocked and disappointed faces on everyone else. She closed the door as she left the room and took a deep breath. Delivering this kind of news was always hard. She went to the counter where a woman in her early 60s was asking about Tori. Amelia immediately recognized the woman. She remembered it was the same woman to whom Amelia had to deliver the news of two brain dead sons the day Derek came from Washington. How could this be happening to her all over again?

The woman also recognized Amelia as she was approaching her. "Dr. Shepherd?"

"Hello Mrs. Gibson. You are Tori's mother-in-law, is that right?"

"Yes. How is she? Please tell me she is fine."

"Why don't we sit down somewhere quiet?" suggested Amelia and led her to two chairs.

"Please explain what is going on."

Amelia literally felt pain for this woman. "Tori's heart stopped for 13 minutes while Dr. Torres and Dr. Pierce worked on her. They got her back but unfortunately…"

"Stop."

"Mrs. Gibson…"

"You are going to tell me that she is brain dead, aren't you?" Her eyes were glassy.

"I am very sorry. I know you must be feeling…"

"Do not tell me you are sorry. Do not tell me you are sorry for losing both my sons and now my daughter-in-law. Your sorry doesn't mean anything to me! You don't have an idea about how I feel!" The woman was crying now. "Tori found out she was pregnant two weeks after Pete died. They have a son who will grow up without both of his parents!" Mrs. Gibson stood up an angrily left the room in tears.

Amelia felt useless. Why do bad things repeatedly happen to good people? That woman lost two sons and now her daughter-in-law. A child lost his father before he was born and now his mother. Amelia was used to hard cases and deaths in neuro, they weren't that rare. But a disaster of this proportion to happen in a family felt unreal, pathetic and stupid. She felt helpless and definitely not like a superhero.

"How did she take it?" asked Callie who just came.

Amelia did not respond.

"You ok?"

Amelia finally nodded. "Yes. She was devastated and for a reason. She's the woman who lost two sons last year. You remember the two cops?"

Callie let out a sigh and put her palm on her face. "Oh my God."

"Yeah… Tori found out she was pregnant after Pete died and they have a child who now doesn't have parents. It's not fair." Amelia's voice was raspy. She put her hand on her belly.

Callie noticed Amelia's sadness and her putting her hand on her belly. "I know. I'll go find Mrs. Gibson and talk to her."

Amelia looked at Callie as she was walking away and appreciated that she would not have to deal with Mrs. Gibson anymore. Right now, she could not handle it.

xxx

"How are my favorite two persons?" asked Owen as Amelia came from the bathroom and lied next to him in their bed. He kissed her belly.

"Fine." replied Amelia coldly as she shut her light on the night stand and rolled over so she wasn't facing him.

"Is something wrong?"

"No."

"Amelia…"

"Everything is fine. It's perfect actually."

"Then what am I not getting?"

She turned the light back on and sat up. "Are you not worried? I mean we are living this perfect little life and I am just waiting for something to go wrong here."

Owen supported his head with his hand. "Why would we worry about something going wrong? You are always the one who tells me not to worry-not about you, not about the baby… And you do a pretty good job at it because everything is fine. We should not worry until we have a reason to."

"I don't mean that kind of worrying. Everything is fine now and I'm glad and happy it is. But quite honestly Owen… What if something happens? What if in three years I die and you and our baby get left alone or on contrary, what if you die and I…" rambled Amelia. "Do you remember the two cops that died last year? Brothers, who were both brain dead? Today, I got to tell their mother that her daughter-in-law is brain dead too. And now a child who is not even 1 year old got left without parents. How is that fair?" Amelia was genuinely sad for that family.

"It's not fair. We cannot know what will happen to us in a year or a month or even tomorrow. I can't guarantee you that we will always be happy and smiling. We'll have fights and arguments and who knows what. And one of us will die before another, that's natural. But we will get through anything that will come in our way and we will try as hard as we can because I can guarantee you this; we're not quitters. We push through." Owen stroked Amelia's cheek while reassuring her.

Amelia finally smiled and teased him. "You are good with words."

"There are mostly women in my family, I always had to be."

Amelia threw a pillow at him. "Jerk." She laughed and lied back down. "Do you want to know if this child of yours will need to be charmed with words like her mother or taught good words by his father or do you want it to be a surprise and give it time till December?"

Owen rubbed her belly. "I don't know. You know I'm terrible with surprises so I guess I want to find out. If you're okay with it?"

"I was kind of hoping for that answer because I cannot stand our families sending us neutral beige or yellow or green clothes." laughed Amelia and sarcastically added: "Although on the other hand I'm not completely sure I want all that pink or blue craziness either."

Owen laughed back. "Yeah, people apparently go crazy over baby clothes." He moved closer to Amelia. "We will probably need to start buying all the baby stuff soon."

"Definitely. I do not wish to waddle around the stores looking like a whale at 8 months pregnant. Oh, by the way, my mom has a thing where she has to buy every grandchild a crib so I thing she will want to do that."

"Fine by me." Owen leaned over to kiss Amelia. "And I can assure you that you will be the most gorgeous waddling 8 months pregnant woman."

xxx

A few days later, Owen and Amelia were waiting in the ob/gyn wing of Grey Sloan memorial to get an ultrasound. Amelia was now 17 weeks pregnant and it seemed like her belly was growing day by day. They chose Dr. Walters as their OB. Dr. Sarah Walters was a blonde woman in her late 30s who was known for her great bedside manner and professionalism. She wasn't cold and insensitive like some others doctors but she also wasn't too perky.

"Dr. Shepherd, Dr. Hunt, come in." smiled the doctor and opened the door to her office. "You can hop on the bed, it's way more comfortable than this chairs." gestured Dr. Walters towards the bed. "So you are here for your 17 week check up?"

"Yep." answered Amelia, a little bit nervous about her new doctor.

"Okay then. I'll get a blood sample and measure your pressure, weight and ask some questions and then we'll do the ultrasound."

"Sounds fine to me." Amelia smiled to Owen. What she liked about Dr. Walters is that she was straight forward.

Dr. Walters asked Amelia and Owen some questions, and measured Amelia's weight and pressure. "You haven't gained too much weight and your BP is great." Sarah was preparing the needle and wiping Amelia's hand as she was trying to take some blood. "I'll be gentle."

"Yeah, that's what he said 17 weeks ago."

Owen smirked at her. "I'm pretty sure you were as guilty as I was."

"All dads say that but as a woman and an OB I have an obligation to always agree with your better half and since she's the one carrying your little one, I'd say you agree with everything she says." smiled Dr. Walters.

"Did you hear that Owen?" Amelia turned back towards her doctor. "I like you."

"Everyone likes me until I tell them to breathe while delivering the baby." answered Sarah while she was already preparing the ultrasound. "Pull up your blouse, please."

Amelia did as she was ordered. She stretched her hand towards Owen who was sitting beside her. He held her hand and smiled, realizing she was a bit nervous.

"Okay, this might be a little cold." Sarah poured the gel over Amelia's belly and started the ultrasound. "Here you go." She turned the screen towards the parents to be. "Here is the head and the spine. You can see the heart beating." She pointed to the heart on the screen. "Do you see its finger? Looks like a thumbs up for me." laughed Sarah. The room got quiet when Dr. Walters played the baby's heartbeat for a moment. For Amelia and Owen, it was the most beautiful sound they have ever heard.

"Wow." was all that Amelia could get out of herself.

"Can you see the sex?" asked Owen, amazed by his child but obviously also curious about the sex.

"Well, your little one crossed its legs, let's try to move him or her a bit." Dr. Walters gently pressed on Amelia's stomach, trying to get the baby to move or rotate a little bit. She wasn't successful.

"He or she gets the stubbornness from you." Owen smirked at Amelia who by the look on her face did not seem to agree.

"I'm sorry, I don't think we're getting any details today. The baby is definitely clever, look," Sarah pointed to the screen, "it turned its back to us."

"Definitely got the cleverness from me." Amelia teased Owen back.

"I'll schedule another appointment in a month since everything seems fine. If you are really curious about the sex you can come in during the week, I can squeeze you in for 5 minutes. The perks of working here, right?" smiled Sarah while she finished whipping the gel from Amelia's belly. "Feel free to come in or call if you have any questions or problems."

"Thank you." responded Owen.

Sarah handed Amelia the baby pictures. "Here are some pictures."

"Great." smiled Amelia and gladly took them.

"Take care, I'll see you in a month."

"Bye." Amelia and Owen both said goodbye to Dr. Walters and stepped outside her office.

"I really like her!" Amelia was excited about her doctor.

"Yeah, I figured since you teamed up on me in there."

Amelia was still looking at the baby pictures and responded in a childish voice. "Aww, poor Owen got bullied."

"Not funny." smiled Owen while putting her arms around her and looking at the pictures as well. His pager went off and Amelia's phone vibrated. "It's the ER. Do you need to go down too?"

"Nope. Since I am clever _like_ our child, I said I couldn't get to work till 9am and it's only 8.30 now. I figured my family would call and I'd have to explain how the appointment went as soon as we're done or they'll keep calling until I answer." responded Amelia while looking at her phone with missed calls and messages from her mother and sisters.

"Clever, huh?" Owen kissed her and went towards the staircase. "I'll see you later."

"Bye." Amelia smiled and walked towards her office. Meanwhile, she texted Lizzie and Kathleen that everything went ok and added a baby picture. Lizzie immediately replied while she had not got a reply from Kate. She actually appreciated that Kate wasn't all that intrusive. Amelia figured a text would be enough for the two of them. Her mother and Nancy on the other hand would need more explaining and details. Carolyn because she was not really good at reading text messages and Nancy because she was an ob/gyn. Amelia got into the elevator and called her mom first.

 _"_ _Hello?"_

"Hey ma, it's me." said Amelia while pressing the button in the elevator.

 _"_ _Oh, hi darling! I was calling you to see how my grandchild is."_

"Everything is great. The baby is growing and seems just perfect and before you ask-I am fine too."

 _"_ _I am so glad to hear that! Remember to drink a lot of water and take it easy. Did you find out the sex yet?"_

"Nope. According to Owen, the baby is stubborn as I am but according to me he or she is just being clever-like its mother. All we could see was the baby's butt." laughed Amelia.

 _Carolyn laughed too. "I'd have to agree with both of you on that one." The woman stopped laughing and sighed._

"Everything ok?" asked Amelia while getting off the elevator and walking towards her office.

 _"_ _Yes, yes, I mean I guess it is. Have you talked to Kathleen?"_

"You guess? What's going on with Kathleen?" Amelia was getting worried by her mother's tone.

 _"_ _Nothing is wrong with her, don't worry. She just had a… situation with Olivia."Carolyn's voice sounded more and more worried as she was talking about her 17-year old granddaughter._

"A situation?"

 _"_ _Apparently something about boyfriends. I don't want to say too much because I don't know exactly what is going on so I don't want to give you wrong information."_

"Oh. Well she _is_ the shrink, I bet she will figure it out." Responded Amelia, not too sure of her words because she figured she knew more about Olivia and her boyfriend than Carolyn.

 _"_ _Yes…"_

Amelia opened the door to her office which was strangely unlocked. She saw Arizona in it. "Well, I have to go call Nance now or she'll drive me crazy. Talk to you later?"

 _"_ _Of course. Goodbye."_

"Bye." Amelia hung up and put her phone on the table. She looked to Arizona. "Hey. No offence but what are you doing in my office?"

Arizona seemed somewhere between perky and nervous. "Oh, here you are. I have a surprise. Look behind you."

Amelia turned her head and saw Nicole Herman behind the door. "Nicole? Hey!" She greeted the woman and they awkwardly hugged. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh you know, putting the theoretical part about not bumping into stuff because you're blind since someone messed with your brain into practice." The room was silent and Arizona and Amelia exchanged a look. "Relax, I'm just here to annoy Robbins."

Arizona rolled her eyes and Amelia laughed. "And let me guess, she got annoyed quickly and brought you here?"

"Apparently." Nicole moved a bit forward to a chair and sat down.

"I did not get annoyed," protested Arizona, "I just thought you'd want to see your surgical baby." she said to Amelia.

"Is that what people are calling me now?" sarcastically added Nicole.

Arizona's pager went off. "Damn it. Can I leave you with Shepherd, I have to run."

"Sure, although I don't know how far you'll get with that leg of yours." added Nicole. Arizona rolled her eyes, smiled and then left the room. Their humor was freakish but Amelia kind of liked it. Definitely her style. "So apparently Hunt knocked you up, huh?"

"How do you know?"

"We did hug, you remember? And there weren't just boobs between us."

"Right." smiled Amelia. "Uhm… yeah, I'm pregnant. 17 weeks, going strong."

"Good for you. Now tell me some real hospital gossip, I need something."

"You'll never change, will you?" Amelia sat down as well.

xxx

Amelia was eating lunch with Maggie when Meredith came to join them. "Hey. Where's your phone?"

Amelia reached for her pocket. "Oh. I probably left it in my office. Why do you ask?"

"Nancy has been calling me the whole day and I answered. Because I thought something was wrong."

Amelia smiled as she remembered she forgot to call her and tell her everything about the baby. "Sorry. How mean was she?"

"It was not that bad actually. Like she was trying to be nice? It was weird."

"Who is Nancy?" asked Maggie.

"One of my sisters." responded Amelia while taking a sip of her water. She noticed the confusion on Maggie's face. "You probably know her under the name McBitchy?" sarcastically added Amelia.

Maggie awkwardly nodded. "Yes. Sorry."

"No need to be sorry, it's kind of right. Although I have to say she is getting weirdly nicer. Maybe she's entering menopause." Amelia knew why Nancy was finally being nice, even to Meredith but she decided to play along.

Meredith almost choked on her salad. "Oh my God if she heard you right now."

Alex came with his plate. "Who's in menopause? Mer?"

Amelia and Maggie loudly laughed while Meredith angrily looked to Alex. "What?! I'm way too young for that. Ass."

"Hey, I just asked because I heard the word. And I figured Shepherd was still in her fertile years and Pierce is too young for it."

Meredith was about to say something when Alex's and Maggie's pagers went off and they quickly got up. "Saved by the pager, evil spawn." They walked away, leaving Mer and Amelia alone. Meredith's phone rang. "Did you forget to inform Kathleen too?"

"What? No, why?"

"She's calling me." Meredith answered her phone. "Hello? Yeah, me and the kids are fine. She's right next to me, we're having lunch. Do you want me to put her on the phone? Oh. Sure. Ok. Bye."

Amelia carefully listened to the conversation between her sister and sister-in-law. "What did she say?"

"Nothing special, she just wants to talk to you. She asked me to tell you to call her when you get off work. She sounded weird."

"Ok… Kate being all secretive again…"

"Secretive Kate is better than 'normal' Nancy." added Meredith.

Amelia laughed. "You're probably right."

xxx

First of all... How did you like the Nancy part? I always felt like there was more to her storyline. Most of the fans don't really like her but I am really curious about the other Shepherd sister-which leads us to: What do you think is going on with Kate or should I say Olivia? Does Amelia know anything?

And another question: what do you think, boy or girl? ;-)


	10. Chapter 10

Hi, I hope you are still reading this. I know, it took me so much time to update this and I feel terrible. I am really trying the best I can but time is obviously not my best friend.

xxx

When Amelia came from work that evening she felt exhausted. Her feet hurt from standing in the OR for the whole day and the baby was demanding food. She took a quick shower to freshen up and changed into her pajamas. It was not bed time yet but she figured she would feel the most comfortable in that. The baby decided it wanted eggs for dinner so she went ahead and scrambled some. Amelia usually waited for Owen to get home so they could eat dinner together but today he was pulled into a big trauma just before his shift was to end so she knew he would not get home for at least 2 hours. After she put her plate in the dishwasher, she finally laid down on the living room sofa. Amelia wanted to check her e-mails as her phone rang in her hand and her sister's name appeared on the screen: Kate. "Damn it, I forgot to call her." said Amelia to herself.

"Hey."

 _"_ _Hi, Amelia."_

"Sorry, I completely forgot to call you…"

 _"_ _No, no, it's fine. It's really fine. I don't mind."_

"Ok… You realize you are the world's worst liar, don't you?"

 _"_ _What?"_

"I don't know. That's what I should be asking you."

 _"_ _Everything is fine." repeated Kathleen. "I just wanted to check on you a little bit, see how your appointment today went."_

"Ok, you can't trick me. What is going on? You are freaking me out by turning into Nancy 2.0."

Kathleen let out a sigh.

"Let me guess, is this the Olivia's boyfriend thingy?"

Kate was clearly surprised by Amelia's knowledge. _"What? Wait, how did you know that?"_

"I don't know anything else except the fact you were stressing out about Olivia's boyfriend, according to ma." Kathleen still did not say a word. "Ok, what did my niece do to shut your mouth?"

 _"_ _You know, actually I am not stressing out about her boyfriend. I am stressing out over my 17-year old daughter. I get that she fell in love and that she got a boyfriend. I am ok with that, really. As much as it kind of kills me inside to see her grow up, it's awfully enjoyable at the same time. Anyway, what I am not okay with, is coming home early and finding the two of them on the couch kissing. And by kissing, I don't mean small, cute, awkward teenage kisses. I mean making out. Seriously making out."_ She stopped for a second. _"The worst part is that I don't even know him. She hasn't said a thing about this Neil to me or to her dad. For what I know, he could be this jerk who wants to… I'm sorry Amy, I shouldn't be bothering you with teenage problems, you have your own stuff going on."_

"No, please, bother me. I'm not even halfway through this pregnancy and all people talk about is baby clothes." Amelia took a blanket and covered her legs. "Besides, this Neil guy doesn't seem like a complete moron to me."

 _"_ _What do you mean?"_ Kate clearly sounded confused.

"Well, uhm…" Amelia took a deep breath. "I kind of met him. Olivia and I were on Skype one day and he was there so she introduced us."

 _"_ _Wait, what? Olivia told you she had a boyfriend and she introduced him to you and you did not seem to mention it to me?"_

"She did. Look Kate, I did not know she hasn't said a word to you, I am as surprised as you are. I thought she told you, that's what she told me. I mean you're not an uptight mom, Natalie had a boyfriend too and you didn't make a big deal out of it. Why would you now?"

 _"_ _Thanks."_ She sighed. _"I really don't know what to do with her, Amelia. All I know is that he goes to the same school as she does so I don't think that forbidding her to see him is a solution. And I cannot forbid her from anything else, she does well in school, she is a great basketball player, she is not a girl who goes out all the time or… I don't know. All that I accomplished while talking to her was yelling and more arguing. Now she is not talking to any of us and you know how stubborn she is. And wait? She lied to you about me knowing? She is going to hear me for this."_

"Let me talk to her before you do, ok? She did lie to _me_. And besides, I screwed up _a lot_ when I was her age. Maybe I'll get through to her."

Kathleen gave in. _"Fine. But as soon as she finds out you were talking to me she will hang up, believe me. Mom tried talking to her and it did not end up nicely."_

"Like you would talk to your grandma about kissing your boyfriend. Look, I'll talk to her and I don't know… Maybe I'll kick some sense into her. At least we'll know I tried."

 _"_ _Ok. Keep me informed. She's just a kid. I don't want her to… Just keep me informed."_ Kate was really worried and desperate.

"Of course. And don't worry, she is a smart kid. I'm sure everything will work out." Amelia tried to console her big sister, hiding the details she already knew about her niece and her boyfriend.

 _"_ _Yeah. Thanks. I'm going to bed now, I have to go to work early. Call me."_

"I will. Good night."

 _"_ _Good night."_

Amelia hung up and felt bad for not telling Kathleen everything she knew about Olivia and Neil. At the same time, she felt furious at her niece for lying to her. Amelia always thought she was a person her nieces and nephews could trust. She knew she wasn't around much lately but she talked with her older nieces and nephews on Skype quite frequently so she thought she at least had a good relationship with them. To them, Amelia was always the typical cool aunt. She was younger than their mothers, much more relaxed and funny. But she was more than just that, she was a person who you could trust in, no matter what. Amelia's history really made her non-judgmental.

At this point, Amelia was trying to figure out whether she should immediately call Olivia or think about it. She was ready to press call when Owen came from work. "Hey, I'm home." yelled Owen from the hallway.

"Living room." responded Amelia.

Owen took his jacket off, put it on hanger and entered the living room. He approached her and the couple kissed. Amelia moved her legs so he could sit down. She put them back on his lap. "Sorry I could not have made it earlier but a patient of mine was a mess."

"It's fine. I hope you don't mind but we already ate, lemon was demanding eggs."

"Not at all. Kind of lost my appetite after digging through someone's bowel for some hours." answered Owen while rubbing Amelia's feet.

Amelia laughed while she looked to her phone, still thinking about Olivia.

"You seem thoughtful."

"Hm?"

"I said that you seem thoughtful. What's running through that clever mind of yours?"

"So many things." smiled Amelia. "I think I screwed up. Big times."

"What are you talking about?" asked Owen.

"It's my niece. I said something to her I probably shouldn't and now there's this big argument between her and Kate… Can we not talk about it right now?" Amelia moved closer to Owen and snuggled to his chest.

Owen wrapped his arms around her, knowing that is all she needs right now.

xxx

The next day Amelia woke up to an empty bed. Owen already left for work but she was free till the evening, until her night shift would start. She has planned this day very carefully. She planned on sleeping in, eating breakfast and then going to buy some groceries. Amelia also wanted to take a peek in baby stores although she felt she would betray Owen for going in without him. But she told herself it was for his own good. She would go through the stores and get a hold of what she liked the most. That way, when the serious baby shopping would begin, they would not have to spend hours in the shops, deciding what they liked the most. And secretly, she just wanted to obsess over baby stuff without anyone knowing. After the shopping, Amelia would hit home and call her niece to talk to her. Olivia should probably be out of school by that time. Amelia imagined there would be yelling and arguments so after that, she would pick Zola from kindergarten and spend some time with her. Luckily Zola did not have boy problems yet, which meant there would not be any yelling. Hopefully. They would make lunch, eat together and spend some aunt-niece quality time. In the evening, Meredith would come and pick her up. Owen would come home and they'd spent some moments together before she would go to work. It sounded like a solid plan.

Amelia opened her eyes and the room was extremely bright. She sat up and yawned then looked at her phone. _11.23 AM._ "What?" said Amelia out loud, although she was alone. Her stomach growled. The baby clearly wanted to eat. "Lemon, do not mess with my sleeping and eating schedule right now. You'll have time for that in a few months. We're keeping it together till then." smiled Amelia, realizing she probably sounded a little pathetic and funny, talking to herself and her belly. She only talked to the baby when she was by herself. She did not even do it in front of Owen. It's not that she was embarrassed to do it, she was not. Amelia was just afraid because she loved this child so much that it creeped her out sometimes. It was natural for a mother to love her child but she got so attached that she could not imagine losing this child too. Maybe she got used to the idea of having a healthy baby too soon or maybe not … After eating brunch, Amelia went to do some grocery shopping and a little bit of window baby shopping. Sincerely, she thought she would do more of shopping since she actually had the time but the fact she had to talk to Olivia made her ridiculously nervous. She decided it would be better to just get over that and make the damn call. When she got back home, she immediately turned on her computer and saw that her niece was on Skype. Amelia took a deep breath and video called her.

After a few seconds, her niece appeared on screen. She definitely took the light brown hair by her father, but her face features were all Shepherd. _"Hey."_

"Hey yourself. Am I bothering you?"

 _"_ _Nope. Came home. Staying here till college."_ sarcastically answered Olivia. _"I imagine my dear mother told you all about me."_

"Olivia."

 _"_ _Amelia."_

Amelia sighed. "I think I deserve an explanation, don't you think?" She tried to say it in a calm, chill voice, although it probably sounded more nervous and bossy.

 _"_ _Wow. Did she infect you with her vocabulary because you pretty much sound like her, except you're not yelling."_

"Look, I'm not trying to back you in the corner and I'm not trying to get information out of you so I can pass it to your mom. I want to be your friend before you aunt but you are making it really hard, kid."

Olivia seemed to be satisfied with her aunt's statement. _"Fine. What do you want to know?"_

"What do I want to know?" Amelia was slowly losing her patience. "For starters, why you lied to me that your family knows about that boyfriend of yours?"

Olivia cut her aunt off. _"Would you stop talking with that tone? I never told you my family does know about Neil…"_

Amelia was the one who cut her off now. "You never told me? What about that time you told me your mom likes him and that you double date with your cousin and her boyfriend? Should I go on?"

 _"_ _You're exaggerating but yeah, ok, no one exactly knew about him, what's the big deal?"_

"Uhm, the big deal is that you at least tell your parents about that. You're not even an adult yet."

 _"_ _I told you."_ answered Olivia and suddenly, Amelia felt a sense of guilt.

She calmed her voice and was now speaking in a softer tone. "And I am glad you told me. I truly am. I am happy that you trust me, honored even. But I don't understand why you wouldn't want to tell your mom and dad? I am pretty sure they would not make a big deal out of it."

 _"_ _I never said they would…"_

"I'm a bit lost here, Olivia."

 _"_ _It's nothing, really."_

"If it were nothing, your family would know and we would not be having this conversation." Amelia stared at her niece on the screen, who couldn't face the camera. Olivia was looking down, doing a thing with her fingers. Amelia was wondering if she should bring the other thing she wanted to talk about up. "Fine, you don't have to tell me. I just hope you know you've lost your parents' trust and you kind of also did mine. We're all trying here but if you keep being this stubborn, we can't do much about it." added Amelia. She looked to the clock and realized she had to pick Zola from kindergarten. "I have to pick up Zola. Call me, ok? Or text, whatever you want. I may be on the other side of the country and in a different time zone but I'm _always here._ " She waited a little if Olivia would say anything back. She didn't. "Bye, O., I love you. Don't do anything stupid."

"Bye." Olivia finally responded as she disappeared off her screen the next second.

Amelia knew there was something going on but she also knew her niece did not like to be pushed. She was smart enough to come forward. Olivia just needed time. In some aspects, Olivia was really similar to her aunt Amelia. She also lacked filter, hated if someone would get in her business and really did not cope well with the problems that might come on her way. She usually shut herself down like her aunt. Knowing her personality, Amelia knew exactly how to handle her but it also terrified her at the same time. She knew Olivia would not turn to drugs like Amelia did at her age, her problems were not that deep as Amelia's but still, she was concerned on how this is going to resolve.

xxx

Amelia sat in her living room floor, playing with Zola. She was getting uncomfortable. She could not find a position that would keep her back from hurting but Amelia also did not want to end the game. They could have played this at the kitchen table or at the living room table but Zola claimed that it was not fancy enough, which made Amelia laugh. She felt a strong obligation towards Zola and her niece also had ways to make people submit to her will. Amelia did get to see some of her oldest nieces and nephews when they were growing up, although her sisters were not that excited to leave the kids with their aunt who just came out of rehab. After that she went to college, med school, she had to do her residency, fellowship and then she found herself living in LA, as far away as she could from her family. This was like a second chance that life had given her and Amelia took is seriously.

"Do you want another cup of tea?" asked Zola as she was drinking her virtual cup.

Amelia gave in to her back pain and scooted a bit. "No, thank you. Why don't we get some real tea instead?" Amelia tried to get her niece excited about something where she would not have to sit on the floor.

"But it's not cold outside and my throat does not hurt."

"Right. Silly aunt Amy, huh?" remembered Amelia as she changed her position again. "What about some ice tea instead, your cousin is getting kind of thirsty."

Zola seemed to be satisfied with that. "Ok." She stood up and started walking towards the kitchen, with Amelia behind her. Zola sat down on one of the chairs.

"So, how is kindergarten? I bet you get to learn a lot of new stuff." asked Amelia while pouring the ice tea in two glasses.

"Not really. Just numbers and letters but I already know all of that."

"You are so smart." smiled Amelia. Zola seemed to age for a few years ever since she started kindergarten. She was at that age where for a minute she was playing tea parties and the other minute, she acted almost like an adult. It was pretty scary seeing her grow up. "What would you like to learn then?"

"Medical things." answered Zola as if it were so obvious and clear for a 5-year old to say that.

"Of course." Amelia followed Zola's serious conversation. "And what is the future dr. Grey-Shepherd most interested in? Brains, hearts? Bones maybe?"

"I think I just want to find out how babies are made and why they hurt mommy's and aunty's backs."

Amelia choked on her ice tea for a moment because of various reasons. First. Her little niece was obviously not so little anymore. Second. Her growing up niece wants to find out how babies are made. And third. Zola was smart enough to get that Amelia's back was hurting a while ago. Zola just outsassed aunt Amelia. Big times.

xxx


	11. Chapter 11

Hi everyone! I am terrible, I know :( Angry at myself for not posting this earlier...

So this chapter is basically devided into certain weeks of Amelia's pregnancy and the things that are happening at the time. Enjoy. :)

xxx

 ** _20 WEEKS_**

"You really can't feel it?" asked Amelia.

"No." answered Owen with his hand on Amelia's belly, a little bit disappointed that he could not feel the baby move. He knew that the first kicks were hard to feel for anyone except the mom. He was a doctor, he knew that perfectly. But he still wished he could have felt him kick.

"But he's kicking so hard for being this little." stated Amelia, feeling her baby's strong kicks. She moved Owen's hand a little to the part she felt the kicks. "Try here."

There was a moment of silence and anticipation in the air. Owen finally felt his son or daughter move. "Wow! It's amazing."

"I told you he's strong." smiled Amelia, feeling really bubbly about this moment.

Owen did not move his hands for a millimeter. He wanted to feel this for as long as he could. He knew he would have many chances to feel this, Amelia was almost 21 weeks pregnant so he had more than 4 months of kicking left but this felt somehow perfect. "You were right. As always." grinned Owen.

Amelia rolled her eyes because sometimes Owen could not help it but be cheesy. He mostly did it on purpose because it annoyed her and he claimed she was cute when she was annoyed. Her vein on her forehead would pop out a little and she would start moving her lips funnily. Amelia knew exactly what he was doing right now. "Stop annoying me or I'll move your hand and keep lemon's kicks for myself."

"Not fair." Said Owen. "Besides, shouldn't we call her something else? She's not a size of a lemon anymore."

"No. Lemon's a cute name." said Amelia. She never actually told Owen about her dad and his thing with lemons. She liked holding on to the name because she somehow felt closer to her father. "And I got used to it."

"I know but this little kicker is the size of a banana right now. Or a carrot. Or a whoopee cushion."

"Do you really want to call our kid a banana or a carrot. Or worse. A whoopee cushion?!"

Owen laughed because it sounded funnier now that _she_ said it out loud. "Pretend all you want, you love the comparison with the whoopee cushion." teased Owen.

"Why would I love comparing my kid with a whoopee cushion?" she threw a pillow on his face. "You are terrible and you are annoying me again." laughed Amelia.

Owen laughed back. "Fine, lemon it is."

After some time they stopped laughing. Owen was trying to find a spot on Amelia's belly where he could feel the baby kicking again. Amelia seemed thoughtful.

"This baby is a boy."

"Two days ago you said you were pretty sure it's a girl."

"Well, now I'm telling you it's a boy." Amelia was silent for some time. "It kicks just as hard as his brother did."

Owen noticed Amelia's eyes going glassy. "Amelia…"

"I'm fine, really. I mean, I will never be fine after that but I am as fine as I can be." She put her hands on her belly. "Sometimes I forget about him."

"Forget about who?" Owen wasn't sure if she was referring to her baby with Ryan, this baby or someone else.

"My baby. Not this baby, my unico… We're having this precious healthy child and my pregnancy is really easy on me and sometimes I just feel too good. Too happy. Not thinking what happened the last time. Not even considering my son. It's selfish."

"Well, we know it won't happen what happened the last time so you get to be happier. You get to feel good about it." Owen realized his words weren't really making Amelia better. "You know, I think he's happy that you're having another baby. That you're moving on. That you're happy."

Amelia sniffed. "Why do you think that?"

"Because I was a kid whose mom was unhappy. You were the kid whose mom was unhappy. I guess we were both troubled and unhappy kids until our parents started being a little bit happier again."

Amelia understood what he was talking about. "We really have to break the chain though. Well, you have to."

"What chain?"

"The chain of dead fathers. Your dad, my dad, Mark… Derek."

"I'll be glad to." Owen leaned over and they kissed.

 _ **21 WEEKS**_

Amelia came to Dr. Walters' office like scheduled. Owen texted her he would be a little late because of a big trauma. After some questions, Sarah started taking Amelia's blood. Amelia's phone buzzed. She immediately looked at the screen, hoping it was Owen texting her he is on his way. It was Nancy's text instead. Amelia did not even bother to read it.

She sighed. "Remind me not to tell my sisters when I have my doctor's appointments."

"Overwhelmed family, huh?" asked Sarah while getting the needle out of her.

"More like crazy sisters who are all doctors, one of them even an ob/gyn." sighed Amelia.

Dr. Walters smiled and then wrinkled her forehead. "Wait, your sister is Dr. Shepherd, specialized in ob/gyn?"

"Yep."

"Nancy Shepherd?"

"Yes, that's the one. Do you know her?"

"If she works in New Haven in YNHH, then I do. I was doing my internship there, she was one of the residents." said Sarah.

"Oh boy, please don't kill me or this child as revenge just because she was mean to you."

Sarah laughed and pointed Amelia to the bed where she would do her ultrasound. "She definitely… is something. But she was the best resident around there, she was pretty badass actually. I learned a lot from her."

The two women would probably go on gossiping about Nancy if Owen did not enter the room. He gave a quick kiss to Amelia. "Hey. I'm sorry, the ER was a mess and Kepner is not working today. Did I miss it?"

"Just about to start." smiled Sarah and started to pour the gel over Amelia's belly. "Feeling the movements already?"

"She moves a lot." responded Amelia.

"She?" asked Owen, knowing that Amelia was referring to the baby as a 'he' for a week now.

"It's a girl, I had a dream in the on-call room." claimed Amelia, confident that she is right this time.

"A girl, huh?" asked Dr. Walters. "Let's see." She was pointing to the screen as she was doing the ultrasound, although they were doctors and knew how to read one. "Here's the head and the nose."

"She doesn't have the Shepherd nose, thank god." said Amelia and looked to Owen who smiled.

Sarah moved to the heart and played the heartbeat. It was like a melody. A strong, sinus rhythm. "Here are the feet and the toes." She froze the picture, did some clicking and measured the baby. "Full 10 inches. Big baby."

"Your height too." joked Amelia.

Sarah moved until she could get the right position to know the sex. "I'm impressed mom, you were right. She is definitely a she."

"It's a girl?" Owen asked happily.

"I told you!" Amelia grinned and Owen kissed her. They were somehow overwhelmed by the fact they were getting a daughter in about 19 weeks. Amelia and Owen talked a lot and they did not really mind if they get a boy or a girl, but now a daughter seemed like a perfect fit and they could not imagine it differently. As they exited the room and walked down the halls of Grey Sloan Memorial they could not stop smiling.

"We are getting a mini you, this is unbelievable! We have to paint the nursery pink and get a cute little white crib." Owen pressed the button as they got into the elevator. "Wait, do you think she'll like pink? Maybe we should go with…" In Amelia's mind Owen was sounding like a male version of Arizona Robbins right now.

Amelia interrupted him. "Ok, stop right there. First of all, you really do not want a mini me, believe me. It is clear to me that she'll be a daddy's girl but slow down. I don't think she will really care what colour her walls are. My guess is she'll probably be satisfied with my boobs." Amelia smiled and stopped talking for a second. "Wow, I never thought 'my boobs' could sound so unsexy in a sentence."

"Your boobs always sound sexy in any sentence." answered Owen just as the elevator doors opened and Alex Karev walked in.

"Get a room."

Owen felt uncomfortable in comparison to Amelia who wanted to tease Karev back. "We don't need one, I heard the hospital elevators are pretty popular, too." grinned Amelia, pulling herself closer to Owen.

"Dude, I'd be afraid to breed with her. You sure you want to create mini Shepherdesses?" Alex did not have a clue that they were having a girl so his statement made the two doctors giggle a bit. He then glanced at Owen and got of the elevator when the doors opened.

Owen laughed. "Was that necessary?"

"Definitely."

 _ **24 WEEKS**_

Owen was woken up by Amelia, who was shaking him wildly and calling his name. He turned over, worried. With his eyes blinded by the light on Amelia's night stand he finally responded with a very sleepy voice. "What? What's going on? Are you ok?"

"No."

"What's wrong?" asked Owen, who now seemed to be more awake than ever.

"We ran out of orange juice."

Owen turned around and looked to his phone. "It's almost 1 AM. I can grab us some in the morning before breakfast."

Amelia looked at him sadly but also kind of angrily. "But your daughter wants some. Right now."

"Uhmmm, ok." Owen seemed to think through it for a moment. "I can squeeze the oranges we have in the kitchen."

Amelia seemed like she was going to cry. Her face looked like a child's when he does something really bad and then feels guilty about it. "You can't, I already ate those."

Owen finally noticed that she needs this juice right now. Amelia did not have many pregnancy cravings but when she did, she better got what she wanted really quickly or else. Now was definitely the time for Owen to step up. He leaned over to Amelia's belly. "Do you want daddy to go buy you some orange juice at Walmart?"

"Yes, please." sighed Amelia in defeat. She really did not want to cry but she could not help it. At this point she did not really know if she was crying because Owen was so amazing and attentive to go buy her whatever she wanted in the middle of the night or because she felt bad for him keeping up with her cravings or because everything just seemed overwhelming. She knew it was just pregnancy hormones but she hated them. Maybe Amelia was crying for becoming that crazy pregnant chick who eventually drives everyone around her crazy. She certainly felt like that.

Owen noticed her tears. He put his hand on her cheek. "Hey, no tears."

"Well I can't help it, I am a mix of estrogen and progesterone and a demanding baby and a weird stomach and I am running you crazy in the middle of the night…"

Owen smiled. "Well I can't help with all of those things but I can definitely go buy you some orange juice, ok?"

"Fine." answered Amelia, sighing in defeat.

Owen stood up and started changing his clothes.

Amelia seemed to calm down a bit. "You're not going to run away because of my stupid pregnancy cravings, are you?"

"No. I love the 'stupid pregnancy cravings' and your mix of estrogen and progesterone and our demanding baby and all of things you mentioned." Owen answered charmingly.

Amelia would be satisfied with a simple 'no' actually. She really wanted that orange juice. "Ok. Well, then go run and buy me that orange juice, will you?" She looked at Owen with her big blue eyes that were begging for that juice.

"Of course." Owen smiled, liking the totally different side of Amelia he has never seen yet. He walked over to her side of the bed and kissed her. "I'll be back soon."

 _ **26 WEEKS**_

"I don't know Kate, I swear I cannot get anything out of her. I thought this would be way easier. I felt like she really trusted me, you know?"

 _"_ _No, I completely get you. I mean, I'm her mother and for the past two months we've been barely speaking. The house is always tense, it's… It's crazy."_ desperately explained Kate to her youngest sister.

"Yeah…two months is a lot but maybe she just needs time." Amelia tried to reassure Kate although she wasn't really sure of her words. "What about Madison? They've always been close."

 _"_ _Past tense. It's silent war now. You know have they used to be that kind of twins who were super close? Now it's like they are the biggest enemies."_

That's when Amelia's pager went off. "Hey, I've been paged, I have to go. I'll keep in contact with Olivia and tell you if anything seems off. Talk to you soon, ok?"

 _"_ _Sure, you run. Bye. And thank you."_

Amelia just nodded, although her sister could not see her, and hung up. She then started running to a patient's room she was paged into.

 _ **27 WEEKS**_

"No, absolutely not." answered Amelia as Owen and her were discussing baby names while putting together the changing table they bought. "Dalilah was our neighbour's dog when we were kids."

Owen laughed at the probably 30th name he proposed and Amelia turned down. "Ok then. What about… Holly? It's simple, yet beautiful. And I think no one names their dog Holly."

"Holly doesn't work. That's one of the nice girls kids always pick on in school." Amelia said with a very obvious tone.

Owen sighed, already running out of options how to name their daughter.

"What about Sarah?" asked Amelia. "I know, it's very common but it's nice and simple."

"Sarah as in your OB? Plus that's my mom's middle name and we agreed on not naming her after anyone."

"Right, I forgot." She collapsed on a rocking chair in the nursery and closed her eyes. "How are we going to tell her how babies are made and explain what a menstrual cycle is if we cannot even pick a name?" joked Amelia.

"Well, thank God we still have plenty of time to figure that out, right? And since we're doctors, I think that will actually be much easier." laughed Owen. "We'll find the right name, we still have more than three months to go."

 _ **29 WEEKS**_

It was 5 AM. Amelia was woken up by a sharp pain in her lower abdomen. _"_ _Lemon, I love you but you have to stop kicking my bladder. Not cool."_ thought Amelia to herself as she pulled herself up from bed. She ran her hand through her surprisingly tidy hair and yawned. She stood up and looked towards Owen who was sound asleep. His sleeping position always made her smile. He was sleeping on his back with his mouth opened a little bit. He was not snoring. Instead he was making really deep breaths. When Amelia couldn't sleep, she used to stare at him because of how peaceful he always looked. Almost like an innocent, careless baby. She wondered if their daughter was going to sleep the same way as Owen, relaxed and very neat or if she is going to be a "messy" sleeper like Amelia. Her sleeping got much better throughout the years though. When she was little, her parents or her siblings would often find her with her feet on the pillow and her head almost hitting the floor. Her covers would be everywhere except near her. Her limbs were usually thrown to all directions they were able to be moved away from her body.

As she smiled and closed the bedroom door behind her, she felt pain in her abdomen again. This time it was different. It was similar to cramps which she thankfully did not experience much. She stopped for a second and put her hand on her belly, which grew a lot for the past two months. Amelia took a few deep breaths as the pain passed. She went to the bathroom and as she was emptying her full bladder that her daughter liked to kick so much lately, she noticed blood on her panties.

xxx

O-oh. (Please don't hate me.)


	12. Chapter 12

"Are you sure you are ok with Robbins doing this?" asked Owen, worried about his wife who was lying on the bed in an exam room.

"She's more than qualified. And Sarah isn't even on call, I don't want to bother her." Amelia looked at Owen who was obviously very worried and nervous.

"Yeah… Ok. How is your pain? Is it getting better or worse? I really don't know what I can do for you but…" Amelia quickly cut him off.

"Can you stop freaking out?" She grabbed his hand. "Just be here and… Be here. We'll be ok."

Owen looked at her, letting out a breath of relief and also feeling guilt at the same time. She was being stronger and more put together than him. He should have protected her. He should have protected both of his girls. "Shouldn't I be telling you that?"

She put a smile on her face. "You are a cute dadzilla, you know?" Amelia was probably more terrified than him but panicking was not an option. She knew what bleeding and cramping meant in the second trimester. She grew up with a sister who did not seem to have a problem talking about anything pregnancy related at the dining table. Neither did her ex-sister-in-law. She knew more about obstetrics and pregnancy complications than most neurosurgeons. Amelia knew that this was most probably a screwed up situation. But she could not let herself fall apart. Not now. Not ever.

Arizona entered the exam room. "Hey. Sorry. I came here as fast as I could. Everything ok?"

"That's what we were hoping to find out." answered Owen.

"Of course. What happened?" asked Arizona while looking at the fetal monitor Amelia was already hooked up to.

"I was feeling some cramps this morning. Most of them not as bad though but some were quite sharp. And I noticed I was bleeding. Not a lot but enough to get us here."

"Ok." Arizona examined her stomach. "The good thing is that you're not contracting and your baby's vitals seem intact as do yours. I need to check your cervix to look for any possible injuries and then I'll do an ultrasound." Her bed side manner seemed to calm the two parents-to-be down. Owen and Amelia were clearly relieved that their lemon was doing ok.

After checking her cervix and discovering no abnormalities, Arizona started with the ultrasound. Amelia's hand was resting tightly in Owen's. They couldn't see the ultrasound because Arizona flipped it towards her before starting it. She moved it across her whole belly, measured the baby precisely and after a few minutes presented the diagnosis to Owen and Amelia.

Arizona turned the ultrasound towards them this time. "Ok. So the baby seems fine. Her measurements are great, she is completely fine. What worries me is this." She pointed her finger towards the screen. "It appears that a part of your placenta has detached from your uterus and that seems to be cause of the bleeding and your cramps." Amelia grasped Owen's hand harder. "The good thing is that it seems to have stopped and according to the ultrasound it is a very small abruption that should not affect you or the baby. The bad thing is that that placental abruptions are very hard to predict. I don't want to scare you, nor console you completely. Some women have a small scare like you did and no complications afterwards. In some rare cases though, the placenta can detach completely which can be fatal to the mom and the baby."

Owen could feel Amelia's hand getting sweaty with every word Arizona spoke. Not that his was any different. Amelia remained quiet. She knew a lot more than she wished she knew about placental abruptions. Owen was respecting Amelia's previous request to stop freaking out so he tried really hard to keep himself together and not scream. "Ok. What can we expect?"

Arizona turned to Amelia like she was the one asking the question and explained. "From now on, you are on strict bedrest. No moving that could make your placenta detach even more. I want to keep you in the hospital for observation and keep an eye on your placenta. When it's time, we'll do a C-section. A vaginal delivery would be too risky for you and the baby."

"Oh… Fine." said Amelia, looking kind of absent.

Owen noticed Amelia's strange behavior and sadness in her eyes. "Amelia…" He would finish the sentence but Amelia's look shut him down.

"That's what's in the best interest for you and your baby. I'm confident everything will turn out ok." Arizona smiled, wanting to break the sudden tension that filled the room every time she had to deliver bad news to a patient. "I'm going to get you admitted." She walked out.

"That was… a lot. But you two will be fine, ok? Everything will turn out great." Owen was clearly worried as he was sitting beside Amelia, holding her hand and trying to keep the situation calm. He seemed he was reassuring himself more than Amelia.

Amelia put on a fake smile and Owen did not know it that broke him even more than it would if she would be crying. "We will be just fine babe." She ran her free hand through his hair. "You think you could get me a cup of coffee? It's been an early morning."

He looked at her a bit surprised at first but she was right. It was an early morning. "Are you sure you'll be fine staying here by yourself? I can stay here and send someone…"

"Owen. I'm fine. Go get us some coffee so we don't look like crap the whole day."

He smiled at her sense of humor that was intact in every situation. Owen did not feel completely sure leaving her by herself after the news they received but they probably needed 10 minutes apart to process the news in their own ways. He stood up and softly kissed her. "On my way."

Here it is... chapter 12! Too late again, I know. But the good news is that I'm finally done with my exams so I'll have more time to write :)

xxx

As he left the room, Amelia finally let herself cry. None of this made any sense. How could the universe always screw up with her? Amelia did not really believe in bad luck. She had to do something to deserve all of this. What did she do wrong to have her father shot? What could she possibly done wrong being so little? And what did Amelia do to lose her best friend Michelle and then Mark and Derek? She understood why she lost Ryan and her unicorn baby. That was payback. That was karma, teaching her a lesson the hard way. Amelia knew that Ryan's death wasn't her fault although she still felt guilty about it. Maybe her baby died so Ryan would not be alone. It made sense. Amelia had people and Ryan didn't. If he wasn't able to live a happy life, maybe he deserved a second chance later. At least it was easier thinking like this; thinking that as much as she suffered losing her baby, he brought happiness to his father. Apart from saving many babies physically, her baby did something emotionally good also. But her other losses did not make any sense. Not any sense at all. Amelia couldn't even think about losing her baby. She felt her daughter moving inside her, she almost had her own room, she had two parents that were so excited and happy to meet her in person. She had a bunch of extended family and friends who were waiting for her. Why would universe put Amelia through something like that and try to take her baby away? What good would that bring to anyone?

Amelia wiped away her tears, remembering to hold on to the last bit of hope she had. She calmed herself down as much as she could, knowing that every time she would let herself fall apart, her tiny bits of hope would disappear. And her daughter was her hope. She would not let her disappear. Amelia would not allow that to happen.

xxx

 _ **6 days later**_

"Yes, mother, for the hundredth time, I am feeling ok."

 _"_ _I am just saying that I can send one of your sisters to Seattle until I get better."_

"Mom, you have pneumonia. It takes a bit more than a box of antibiotics to heal, you know that. So you are not going anywhere. And I don't need my sisters here. I just need my apartment and my bed."

 _"_ _Well, if you insist…"_

"I do. I'm fine. The baby's fine. Owen's fine. Meredith is fine. The kids are fine. No need for a Shepherd reunion ma'."

 _"_ _Well, I'd prefer you'd be more than fine."_

"Mom. You are sick. I am not. I am pregnant. You know, the thing you did five times?" sarcastically added Amelia.

 _"_ _I certainly understand that. But the difference is that I did not have any major complications during my pregnancies. And you do."_

Hearing Carolyn say that out loud made it even scarier for Amelia. Her mom was always the one person who would make her feel better, not worse. "I know, thank you for pointing that out…" Silence filled their conversation.

 _"_ _Amelia, you know what I…"_

"I know mom. We'll be ok, really. I have to go now, a doctor is coming in." Amelia hung up, leaving her mother probably thinking that she was getting an exam. "Thank God Edwards, give me some juicy cases!" Amelia said to Stephanie, who just walked in her room.

"I'm sorry, I did not know you were talking to your…"

"It's fine. Now, can we go over anything other than my chart or will you stand there staring at me until I send you to get me anything but hospital food?"

Stephanie quickly stepped closer and handed her the tablet where all the patient's charts were. "Of course. Although I'd be happy to get you anything." Amelia was always amused by Edwards' excitement over neuro. It reminded her of herself in her residency years.

xxx

 _ **7 days later**_

"Hey, need any company?" Maggie knocked on the door.

"Please. I've been playing this game on my phone and I've become addicted to it." A noise came out of her phone, announcing the game was over. "What's up?"

"Nothing much. I was on my way to getting a nap but every on call room seems to be… occupied."

"That's weird. It's not even noon yet. Almost nobody takes a nap…" Amelia suddenly saw Maggie's look. "Oh. We're not talking about naps anymore, are we?"

"Nope. I mean, I walked in on April and Jackson barely wearing any clothes, you could hear Wilson from another room and since Katherine is in town, I did not risk going into any on call room because I'd probably get blind. Then I went to the attending's lounge and Robbins and Torres were acting all weird. I don't know if "we're back together" weird or "we hate each other" weird. Just weird. So I came here."

"Well, I guess this room is opened for all women who are not getting any." joked Amelia.

"At least you have a reason." Maggie glanced to Amelia's belly.

"But wait. What happened to that Ethan of yours?"

"Oh, that's certainly over. I mean, would you stay with a guy that always talks about his mother? And when he doesn't, he is on the phone and talks with her."

"What? He's _that_ guy? Never would have guessed it."

"Yeah, I know." She rolled her eyes. "How are you? Are you getting discharged anytime soon?"

"I'm fine. I'm more than fine. No pain, no bleeding and I still have to be in bed constantly. Ironic, right? But I begged and begged and maybe annoyed them a little so hopefully they're letting me out today. I mean, what's the difference? Lying at home or here? At least my bed is more comfortable." Amelia sighed. "The hospital is much more fun when you're the doctor."

"Doctor patients. Horrible." laughed Maggie.

xxx

A few hours later Owen appeared in the room and found a sleeping Amelia. She was sleeping on her back, with both of her hands on her belly, like she was protecting it. He smiled and realized how his life was getting better and fuller ever since he met Amelia. He quietly approached the bed and tried to sit down on the chair next to the bed so he wouldn't wake her up. Due to the squeaky chair, he failed. Amelia opened her eyes.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up. Go back to sleep."

"All I do is sleep because I have nothing better to do." mumbled Amelia, moving herself a bit.

"You're supposed to rest."

Amelia pretended like she did not hear him. "So, when are we going home? They said they'd release me by the evening."

"That's what I came here to talk about. Arizona is fine with discharging you but are you sure you want to go home?"

"What do you mean if I'm sure I want to go home? Of course I'm sure. I'm sick of lying in this bed, hooked on all kinds of machines that beep all the time." She realized she was getting kind of defensive. "I'm saying yes, I want to go home, I want to lie in my bed. In our bed."

This was the first time since Amelia was in the hospital that Owen heard her complain. He never saw this part of her. The patient, waiting kind. The kind that never panicked. He wondered if this was some kind of a motherly instinct kicking in or if she was just hiding everything inside. Amelia never seemed worried and she was freakishly optimistic. Owen, on the other hand, was worried all the time. He tried not to show it around Amelia, but he was. He was so freaking worried. He trusted Arizona that most probably everything will go fine but still. He was a doctor. He knew that there was always a chance something could go terribly wrong. "Fine. Then we're going home." He faked a smile. "I'll go get the discharge papers."

Amelia's eyes brightened like a kid's eyes do on Christmas. She loved this hospital. Just not so much when she was the patient. She watched Owen walk outside her room and let out a deep breath. To be honest, she was a little scared to go home because she was worried about her baby. But she was more worried she would go nuts if she had to stay any day longer. Her daughter won't exactly hit the jackpot with having Amelia as a mother so she might at least stay sane.

xxx

"I am serious. You only get to stand up when you go the bathroom. The less time you move, the better it is for you and the baby." repeated Arizona for about the tenth time this day as Amelia was finally getting from the wheelchair to the car.

"Got it Robbins." answered the woman, slightly annoyed already.

Owen appeared more grateful. "Thank you. For everything."

"No problem. Call me if you need anything and take care." Arizona pulled the wheel chair away and walked away towards the hospital.

The couple was finally locked and loaded in the car. They were both excited but also kind of nervous that Amelia was getting home.

Not really knowing what to say, Owen finally spoke up. "So, I took a couple of days off."

"What? Why?"

"What do you mean why? You're on bedrest, remember? Are you planning to starve because you won't be able to get to the kitchen?"

"Well, the trailer did have its perks now that I think about it." joked Amelia.

Owen laughed back. "It did, huh?" Their hands and fingers interfered as they were driving towards their apartment. "So… I was thinking…"

"Really? Did it hurt?" Amelia seemed to be in a much better mood ever since she was finally discharged.

"Ha-ha. I was thinking on how we'll organize once I get back to work because as much as I'd want to, I cannot stay at home until our lemon is born."

"I would never ask you that, Owen."

"I know, I know. That's why I'm asking you. Or actually… telling you something."

Amelia recognized the look on his face. "Dr. Hunt, what the hell did you do?"

Owen started rambling which he usually never did. "Well… uhm… I was thinking about when I go back to work and I figured someone should stay over here. So since your mom is sick, that's not a solution although she insisted on flying over here and probably will once she gets healthier. My mom lives on the other side of Seattle which would take her the whole morning to get here. Plus, I'm pretty sure you'd get bored with her eventually."

"Owen, spill. Who did you make stay here?"

"Oh. No. I didn't make her. She offered. And she was more than happy to come and very hard to decline."

Amelia stared at Owen, waiting for an answer.

Owen parked the car in front of their apartment and pulled out the car keys. "Your sister." He opened his car door and shut it right after Amelia finished her sentence. "My sister?! Which one?"

He opened her car door and helped her out although she did not really need the help. "Kathleen."

"Kathleen? My sister who has 6 daughters and enough problems of her own is coming here?"

"Yes." Owen lifted Amelia so he could carry her inside.

"What are you doing? Get me down."

Owen pretended like he did not hear her. "Lizzie couldn't really be here since she has 4 ridiculously energetic boys and I figured you'd get ob/gyn-ed all the time if Nance was here so Kathleen offered to come. Plus Kate's oldest three or even four ones are old enough not to have their mom by their side all the time and she has a husband for the youngest ones, remember?"

"Ok fine, Kate is coming, whatever, can you let me down now?"

"Would you push the button?" asked the Owen while they were already in the elevator.

Amelia gazed at him then pushed the button, realizing she's not going to win this time. "Are you now planning on carrying me around all the time like some kind of a prince charming?"

Owen laughed. "Now that you suggested it…"

"Shut up." She laughed back.

xxx

If I haven't told you yet, I don't study medicine so please excuse my lack of knowledge. I did some research -of course- but everything is probably not accurate so bare with me ;)

And yes, I'm kind of obsessed with Amelia's sisters and giving them more "screen time" :)


	13. Chapter 13

I suck at updating this story - I know - but here it is. Hope you're still reading it. :)

xxx

"Hey, do you know how Amelia is doing?" asked Callie while entering the attending's lounge, unaware that Meredith was on the phone with her.

 _"_ _Tell her that my back hurts from lying all the time and that she should put Edwards on scut if she doesn't bring me any interesting cases."_

"She is… doing great." answered Meredith, hiding the grumpiness in Amelia's sentence.

"I'm glad to hear that. Ask her if she needs me to bring anything." Perkily asked Callie. "A chocolate? Or some magazines? Oh! We can do our nails!"

 _"_ _Please inform her that chocolate makes me thirsty and then I have to drink. Which means I have to pee so Owen keeps controlling my peeing time. And no magazines or nail polish. I don't want to turn into some kind of a… girl!"_

"She's fine." smiled Meredith.

 _"_ _And tell Torres she doesn't have to hide the fact that Arizona and she are back together! It's kind of obvious!"_ yelled Amelia, so this time Callie heard her. Meredith, surprised at Amelia's sentence, looked over Callie, who blushed and walked away.

"You made her blush and walk away. That's pretty hard to do."

 _"_ _I wish I could make Owen walk away for like… 5 minutes."_

"So he's there listening to you complain about him?"

 _"_ _Obviously not. He took the trash out but I'm pretty sure he's already running up the stairs, afraid that I died in the 10 seconds he wasn't in the same room as me."_ Amelia sighed. _"Okay, let's change the topic."_

"I don't know if what I'm about to say is changing the topic but anyways. I figured you'd be in a better mood if I told you this. Well, suggested I guess."

 _"_ _What?"_

"I was supposed to pick up Kathleen tomorrow and spend some time with her and you know, let her hang out with the kids before I drive her over here. But maybe we could change the plan a bit."

 _"_ _Changing the plan? I thought you knew Owen?"_

"I'm pretty sure he will agree if I suggest that he goes and picks up Kathleen while I come here with the kids who miss their auntie Amelia really, really bad. That will give you like an hour or even more before you go from living with a worried Owen to living with a worried Owen _and_ your shrink sister."

 _"_ _Hmm, you're playing the kid card. Meredith Grey, you are a genius."_

"Thanks. I know."

xxx

As Amelia hung up, she felt joyful for a moment. That moment lasted until she realized she was getting happy for getting rid of Owen for some time. Amelia loved Owen, there was no doubt in that. She loved him and she needed him. And yet somehow, she felt suffocated by him for the past few days all at the same time. Owen meant well and she knew all he was doing was taking care of their baby and her. But that was the point. No one was taking care of him.

"Hey. I'm back. Was I gone for a long time? Mrs Dender downstairs came in with some bags so I helped her take them in. Poor thing is barely using her legs."

Amelia listened as Owen talked about their 90 something old neighbour. She knew he was talking for more time than of what words she actually heard and understood. Her previous thoughts prevented her from listening to him. Amelia finally interrupted him. "You need to go."

"What? Go where?" his forehead wrinkled. Owen was obviously confused.

"Owen you need to go somewhere. Like right now. We've spent the past few days being together all the freaking time. And don't get me wrong, I love being with you but not like this." She sighed. "We're constantly smiling and pretending everything will be ok although we don't know it. I know how hard this is for you and you know how hard this is for me. I just… I… I need some time alone, ok? And so do you. Go for a run or go for a drink or whatever you want. Just… Do something."

"Amelia, are you…"

"Please."

Owen did not completely understand why she wanted him to go. She could have just asked for some space and he would have closed the bedroom door and mind his business. But sincerely, he was in no mood to argue with her. He looked at her, unsuccessfully waiting for any kind of words to come out of her.

Amelia saw the look in his eyes. The look she's been getting ever since she ended up in the hospital. She knew the look, she understood it but she needed it to go away. "I'll be… _We'll_ be fine." They exchanged a look and Owen left right after, slamming the door behind him.

xxx

 **Owen's POV**

Owen walked out of the block they lived in. He was pissed. He wanted to scream and yell at Amelia for pushing him away. But he also did not really want to do that. He honestly didn't. He understood her but at the same time he didn't. Owen started walking in one direction, wondering where he should go or what he should do. He thought about taking a drive with his car but he did not have the car keys with himself and he had no intention of walking back for a while. He took a walk to the park near their apartment and sat on a bench for a while. Owen's mind was blank. He did not think about anything. He did not feel anything. He just let the cold October wind blow past him.

He finally decided to move and take a walk down the street. After walking down the block for a while, he started running. Owen didn't go for a run for some time now. He felt like he really needed it and his body agreed as his feet moved faster and faster. He stopped at some point to catch a breath, stretch a little and put his earplugs in. His playlist played as he continued to run, this time more slowly and peacefully. He ran and ran and suddenly he was already on a more isolated path that led through a forest. Owen stopped, realizing he was quite far away from home. He leaned on an old tree. It reminded him of that old tree in front of Meredith and Derek's old house that was chopped down when he returned from the battlefield. That tree had many memories for him. When Amelia and he started spending time together a bit more, they used to meet behind that old tree all the time. It was far enough so Meredith and Derek wouldn't see them and close enough of the house, so Amelia did not have to walk to the trailer alone too far. The memory was bitter-sweet though. He mentioned that tree when he came to see her after he came back. She let herself fall apart for the first time after Derek died that night. Amelia let herself fall apart only when he was there. The thought of that night made Owen smile because they were starting to realize they belong together. But it also made him feel guilty and incredibly sad for her. Like he thought; a bitter-sweet memory.

Owen turned around and started walking in the direction of their apartment. For the first time after they got the news about the placental abruption, he was subconsciously thinking of something else than that. Maybe that was why Amelia sent him away. Maybe that was the point. Owen stopped and smiled. Because in that moment he knew that their little Lemon was far too strong and will bring them many more memories than that old tree. And he couldn't wait for that.

 **Amelia's POV**

As Owen loudly slammed the door behind him, Amelia felt torn between her guilt and between doing what she was certain will do them both good. At least she thought she was certain. She did not really know what to do but Amelia knew she didn't want to spend the time alone _lying_ in her bed thinking about how unhappy she is by constantly _lying_ in her bed. She wasn't going to risk her daughter or herself by standing up. She stared at the ceiling, thinking what to do to occupy her mind that wouldn't include moving around. Her fingers were making some random patterns on a book she was reading as she was wiggling her toes and watching them. Amelia thought that at least a minute had passed while she was doing that but she did not have that luck. _"_ _10 freakin' seconds."_ She thought about her NA and AA meetings and how they always talked about taking a moment at a time or a minute at a time. _"_ _How am I supposed to go through a minute if I start going nuts in seconds?"_ Amelia did not crave alcohol or drugs. She didn't crave the partying or anything like that. She missed waking up angry at her alarm, she missed waiting for the toaster to heat up, she missed picking out clothes for work, she missed the morning traffic. Amelia was craving a normal life. She knew… well she _hoped_ that it will all be worth it in a few weeks. She was surprisingly optimistic about her diagnosis. Of course she was worried but it wasn't her usual worried. Something inside her kept telling her that everything will turn out fine at the end. And she strongly believed it. But what she did not know is how to make herself turn out fine in the meanwhile.

Amelia pressed the name in her phone contacts she knew would help her and cheer her up a bit. Nobody understood Amelia more than her friend Charlotte. They've been through some ridiculously similar things in life and this happened to be another one of them.

 _"_ _Hello?"_ answered a southern voice on the other side.

"Hey. Are you busy?" asked Amelia, hearing crying voices in the background.

 _"_ _Nah. I'm just walking out of the house. Rachel has been clinging on to me for the past few days like nuts. It's better to just walk away and she stops crying the minute I'm out. Any long goodbyes and she's actin' like a devil's child the whole day."_ The crying stopped as Charlotte apparently walked out of the house. _"So, how you doin'? Still becomin' friends with that bed of yours?"_

"More like enemies, I guess." sighed Amelia.

 _"_ _I get ya. But hey, look on the bright side. At least your head is not somewhere lower than your feet thanks to that Trendelenburg fella."_

"Yeah."

 _"_ _You okay?"_

"I don't know. I mean yes, physically I'm completely fine which is pretty ironic, right? But I'm… I'm slowly losing my mind Charlotte. I'm lying here all the time. Owen is taking care of me and being an angel while I bitch about everything. I'm not even kidding, he's freaking perfect. Which is bothering me. He's not coping. I know it's weird coming out of my mouth but I'm truly ok with this. I don't know what's gotten into me but I'm being optimistic and I am actually not afraid to say it loud and jinx it. He says he's fine but… he's not. I literally kicked him out before and I hope he breaks down or talks to anyone or gets drunk or… anything." Amelia took a deep breath. "That came out wrong, didn't it?"

 _"_ _You know it's me you're talking to? He's a daddy to be, he's allowed to be freaked out even more than you. You're actually carrying the baby so you know how you feel. And you feel great. Which_ is _great. But he still feels like crap because he probably still sees the diagnosis, not everything that happened from then on. Plus we live in this crappy world where it's ok for a woman to break down and cry but God forbid men would do that."_ Amelia heard Charlotte had started the car. _"I'm not the one to preach you this because I obviously don't practice it enough but tell your goddamn man that you were scared as shit but you ain't anymore so he can chill."_

Amelia laughed quietly.

 _"_ _You might also add that laughter. Men love it when you smile and look like…Heidi Klum, was I?"_ Charlotte joked as she remembered Amelia called her that when she was in the hospital.

"You ever thought about going into psychiatry?"

 _"_ _Shut your mouth. Ya know I only get to talk to you like that. I still have a bitchy reputation to hold on to."_

"Of course Dr King." Laughed Amelia. "Thanks for the advice. Now I'll hang up so I won't be responsible for any car accidents."

 _"_ _Yeah, I still have a teenager to argue with and 3 screaming girls at home, don't ya dare!"_

"Bye Char." Laughed Amelia.

 _"_ _Take care of that baby of yours and enjoy it while it still doesn't scream. Talk to ya later."_ She hung up.

Amelia immediately felt better after talking to her friend. She went through a similar situation. Even worse to be precise so Charlotte definitely had more than enough knowledge on how to handle this. Amelia felt relieved and also thoughtful about what Charlotte said. Charlotte was probably right. Amelia needed to tell Owen that she was a mess but she is not anymore. She suddenly realized that waiting for him to come home would be harder and longer than lying in this bed for more than a month. And maybe that was ok. Truly ok.

xxx

Owen opened the bedroom door and started taking his hoodie off. That run sure made him sweat. "Hey."

Amelia carefully observed him, trying to find out if he was angry or in a better mood than he left in. She was trying to find the right moment to talk to him. "Hi. You went for a run?" She carefully asked.

"Yeah." He removed his sweaty T-shirt and sat on the bed next to her. "Can we talk?"

"I think we need that, yes." Amelia smiled gently as she noticed that Owen was clearly in a better mood. "Why are you so perky?"

"Perky, huh?" laughed Owen and Amelia joined him. After an awkward amount of laughter, Amelia spoke up.

"I was terrified, you know?" Owen looked her in her blue eyes. "After Arizona diagnosed me. I cried myself to sleep for 4 days. I kept thinking we were going to lose her. But then it kind of hit me. I was ok. We were ok. It's hard to explain…" Amelia started rubbing her belly. "Suddenly everything felt optimistic." Owen was staring at her. "I know. It's weird that I'm the one being all optimistic and stuff when I've got miles of darkness behind me. And don't think that I think we're completely carefree. I don't. I'll still protect this little kicker with every power I have inside me. But I don't really think I'll have to." She put Owen's hand on her belly and put hers on top of it. "She's too freakin' strong."

Amelia did not know what to expect after her mini confession. But somehow, it felt the right thing to do. Charlotte was right.

Owen smiled as he felt his baby girl kicking. He started rubbing Amelia's belly and talking. "I felt like screaming when we found out. Not sure at whom but… It didn't feel fair. I didn't cry myself to sleep because well… I haven't really slept at all lately." Confessed Owen. "I kept thinking of every possible complication and outcome and being a doctor didn't help. I mean we do work at Seattle Grace Mercy Death as some call this hospital." Amelia chuckled because this was funny and very damn sad at the same time. "I believed we truly were some magnets for bad luck until today. Until you asked me to go. And I ran and ran and did not feel that bad anymore. This will sound funny but I ran to this old tree in the middle of nowhere and it brought so many memories." Amelia looked away, remembering more of the bad things that happened and not so much of the good ones. "I realized that some trees are meant to be chopped. They just can't make it and it's better that way. But you know what? Our little Lemon tree isn't like that. Like you said it, she is strong." He smiled. "Like her mom. And now I know it as well."

Amelia looked back at his blue eyes that finally got back the sparkle she missed so much in the past few days. She smiled and leaned forward so their noses were touching. "You just brought John Lennon's song into this. You realize that, right?"

"Bad idea?" whispered Owen.

Amelia kissed him and he returned it. They did kiss for the past few days. But those kisses were just too ordinary. Too plain. They didn't even feel sincere. This one on the other hand, felt more than good. _Not a bad idea at all._


	14. Chapter 14

Sorry for the late update. Been really busy with college but here it is! This one is more about Olivia but I promise there will be more Amelia&Owen soon. :)

xxx

"I'm telling you that you should read it, it's really good!"

"And I'm telling you that I already read it in high school and didn't like it." Opposed Amelia.

"That was a long time ago. Who doesn't like Hamlet? It's such a classic book, you'll have fun!" claimed Kathleen.

"Did you just use _classic book_ and _fun_ in the same sentence? You are unbelievable."

Olivia, who came to Seattle with Kathleen or as she put it ' _was dragged to Seattle'_ , watched her mother and aunt fight over some of the most ridiculous things over the past few days. It wasn't really fighting. It was more like bickering one minute and being fine the other. Olivia wondered if she would ever reach that phase with her sister or if they'd just never speak again like the current situation seemed like. She watched the two of them as she exited the room and started chatting with her older sister.

 _"_ _If you didn't tell mom, you should at least tell aunt Amy!"_

"I didn't tell mom and I'm not planning to do that. You know her. That'd just make the whole situation with Madison more awkward than it already is. I swear our mom and her sisters are so weird." She put her head through the door and checked no one was listening. "They're fighting over Hamlet right now."

 _"_ _Wow. I see you're having a lot of fun in Seattle." Joked Natalie. "Anyways, I don't want to be the big family secret keeper so you better tell them before I do."_

"You wouldn't!"

 _"_ _Like I would not throw that teddy bear of yours out of the window when we were little?"_

"Nat, I swear to God if you tell anyone that Madison had a thing for Neil and we are the ones who ended up together I'll…" Olivia stopped talking when she saw Owen who walked through the front door and was looking at her.

 _"_ _You'll what?"_

"Hey, I gotta go. Bye. And shut up."

 _"_ _Wha…"_ Olivia hung up so Natalie couldn't finish what she wanted to say.

"Sorry, didn't mean to overhear that but I kind of didn't have a choice." Apologized Owen and smiled, not completely sure what to do. He started taking off his coat.

At this point, it wasn't sure if Owen was the one who acted more awkward or if it was Olivia. "It's your apartment so…" She shyly said. "Just don't say anything to my mom. Or Amelia. Please."

"Don't worry, I won't interfere with the Shepherd drama any more than I have to." Joked Owen. "Although I'm not a liar so if your mom or aunt were to ask me something I wouldn't lie." He added with a more serious tone this time.

"You know I'm only half Shepherd, right? And I'll tell them... when the moment is right."

"Make that moment right sooner rather than later, ok? And half Shepherd is a lot. Have you heard Ellie scream?" joked Owen, referring to the drama that Ellis's crying made.

"Owen, is that you?" yelled Amelia from the living room. "Come here and tell Kate that Hamlet sucks!"

"Completely Shepherd doesn't seem much different apparently." He continued to joke.

"Yeah, they've been at it the whole day." Answered Olivia, worried that she was obligated to tell her mom and Amelia everything since Owen knew as well.

xxx

After the early pizza dinner, which Amelia insisted on -actually the baby if you asked Amelia- Kate wanted to go over to Meredith's. "I'm so full but I promised Meredith to help her put the kids to bed and catch up a little. I have to get ready. Come on Olivia, we should go." Said Kate while standing up and taping her daughter on her shoulder.

"By catching up she means interrogating her." Whispered Amelia to Owen but intentionally said it loud enough for Kathleen to hear her and give her a mean big sister look.

"Me? Do I have to?" asked Olivia.

"Of course. Come on, let's go for a visit and leave Owen and Amelia alone for some time."

Amelia interfered. "It's fine with us if she stays here, Kate." She really meant it. Amelia liked having Olivia around and since Kate wouldn't be around, that would give them the chance to talk more openly.

"No offence mom but I'm not really looking forward to reading Cinderella and then watching aunt Meredith and you drinking wine and having long, boring conversations about … everything."

"Olivia…"

"It's not like I'm going to be attached to aunt Amy's hip and crying for my mommy."

"She has a point Kathleen. Go and kiss the little ones goodnight for us and have a ladies' night or whatever. Go and be the awesome aunt and I'll do the same." Winked Amelia. "Olivia's a big girl. She'll be fine." Amelia convinced Kate with a smile.

Kate sighed and looked between Amelia and Olivia. "Are you sure?"

"We all are." Said Owen, not knowing what anyone was to be sure about. But he knew that this might be a good opportunity for Olivia and Amelia to talk.

"Well… fine. Be good, ok?" said Kate while caressing her daughter's cheek.

Olivia moved away. "Mom, I'm not five."

"Yeah, yeah, you're almost an adult and everything." Kathleen rolled her eyes a bit, just enough to annoy her daughter. "Bye."

"Bye." Answered everyone in sync as they watched Kathleen walk out of the apartment.

Once she closed the doors, Olivia let out a loud breath. "Thanks for that."

"You kind of owe my one, right?" Owen stood up from the couch. "I'll take a shower and let you two talk."

Amelia was clearly confused and did not have an idea about what Owen was talking about. "What?" He simply kissed her on the cheek, then walked away and gave Olivia an encouraging look before he left the room. "What is he talking about?"

"I…" Olivia was trying to gather her thoughts and speak but the words just didn't want to come out.

"Liv, what's going on? You're starting to scare me."

Olivia felt like Owen threw her right into the fire. He basically forced her to talk to Amelia. Not that she did not want to. She did. Olivia just did not know if she was ready. "It's… stupid… it's… nothing."

"Then why are you pale as a ghost?" Amelia waited for an answer for a respectful amount of time but all she could hear was Olivia's breathing that was becoming a bit faster; like she was just about to cry. She took her hand. "Hey. It's me you're talking to. I'm completely sure whatever is in your mind or whatever you did is not worse than all the things I screwed up in life."

Olivia sighed. "I really screwed up aunt Amy. Or maybe I didn't… I don't even know. If I knew, I could at least be happy or beat myself up about it."

"Ok." Nodded Amelia. "What are we talking about?"

"Neil."

"Oh." Amelia was surprised that Olivia mentioned her boyfriend. She was sure that Olivia's stubbornness would never let her speak about anything involving him. "What happened?"

"So many things." Olivia rolled her eyes.

"Boys can be complicated."

"I think girls are even worse."

Amelia nodded but didn't really understand her sentence. She gave it a few seconds to sink in. "Wait. Are you trying to tell me that you're bisexual?"

"What? No! Why would you…? No." Olivia did not understand where her aunt got this idea from. She wrinkled her forehead. "I mean I'm more than completely ok with it but I'm not into girls."

"I just thought that when you said that girls are more complicated than boys…"

"I meant Madison." Stated Olivia, like it was the most ordinary thing in the world.

"What does your sister have to do with all of this?"

"I'm warning you, this will sound like a telenovela."

"Ok?"

"So… Before Neil and I were a thing Madison really liked him. Well, you could say we liked him at the same time but she said it first so I couldn't just say it as well. But she never made a move on him and neither did he. Then there was this musical thing for school and he plays the guitar so we started talking and one thing led to another and… We starting dating. I didn't tell anyone at home because imagine if Madison ever found out. We always snuck around and wanted to keep it a secret because I really, really did not want to hurt her feelings."

"And you feel guilty."

"So freaking much. And then… mom came home early one day and thought the worst. I wanted to explain everything but imagine how hurt Madison would be. So I kept quiet and let everyone think what they wanted to. That way I wouldn't have to explain. That way Madison would think maybe we just hooked up once or whatever… She'd be more pissed off if she knew the truth."

"Wow. Ok. That really sounds like a telenovela."

"I warned you…" sighed Olivia.

"I've been through a lot in my life but I have to say I never had to deal with this kind of problems. Yay for a lot older siblings, right?" smiled Amelia, trying to cheer Olivia up. "But what I do know is that the truth is always the best. And believe me when I say that your mom nor your dad will flip out or something."

"I know they won't, that's the problem. They are like the nicest people alive, they'll laugh a bit and be ok with it and invite him over. I'm not even thinking about them…"

"You're thinking about your sister."

"Yeah."

"You are like the most non-egoistical teenager that has ever existed." Smiled Amelia as she held Olivia's hand. Olivia smiled mildly, still kind of waiting for a solution. "Once again, I was never in your position so I don't know what exactly you should do. But on the other hand… I know a thing or two about siblings. You constantly fight, complain about each other, borrow stuff without the other knowing, argue about it and the next minute you are completely fine." Explained Amelia as she was remembering her relationship with her sisters and brother. "Hell, you crash their car, almost die on them and they are still there for you. They give you some crap about it and then they still love you. Your parents kind of have to love you but your siblings don't really have an obligation towards you. But they still love you." Amelia was trying really hard not to cry as tears were slowly forming in her eyes. Never did she say this out loud but she loved having siblings. Derek was her favorite without doubt but she had to admit that although her sisters gave her a lot of crap they were always there when she needed them.

Olivia got the hint and nodded with a smile. She squeezed her aunt's hand and realized how lucky she was that her siblings were at least all alive. Her problems suddenly felt so small. "Do you still miss him?"

"What?"

"Do you still miss uncle Derek? I mean, I know you do, we all do. But it's different for me than it is for my mom or you."

"All the time. I'd feel weird if I didn't." said Amelia with a raspy voice, facing away from her niece.

"Mom still cries. Well not in front of us. But I know she does. She has these random moments and you can see how hard she's trying not to. She's fine but she's a mess at the same time. Can you imagine that she started listening to the Clash? My mother." Laughed Olivia.

"She did, didn't she?" Amelia looked at her niece and laughed back, as a tear escaped her eye. _She knew exactly why Kathleen was listening to the Clash._

xxx


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15 is finally up. Chapter 16 will be the final one. Ok, no more rambling from my side. As always - enjoy reading this. :)

xxx

After Kathleen and Olivia returned back home, Amelia and Owen's life continued with a normal pace. They were surprisingly handling the situation really well. They compromised that they wouldn't hire anyone to help out Amelia while Owen was at work as long as all the baby check ups would go well and Amelia's blood pressure would stay steady. It took Amelia a while to convince him but he gave in. He remembered the conversation they had and he understood that they were both scared but staying optimistic and calm about it was their best option. Owen also put "phone with you at all times" as a condition for her to stay home alone. That way if anything would go wrong, she could call immediately and if Owen called, she should always answer so he wouldn't be worried. It was a good compromise. It worked. Amelia actually enjoyed being alone after her sister and niece left. Of course she liked spending the time with them when they were here but probably for the first time after a really long time she wasn't afraid to be 'by herself'. And by herself, meaning she wasn't afraid to be alone with her thoughts. To be honest, the exhaustion of the 3rd trimester was slowly hitting her and she did not have the energy to overthink anything. Amelia was in the middle of her 34th week of pregnancy. She did not remember being this tired when she was pregnant for the first time. It was kind of funny. At that time she basically worked until she went into labor and now she was spending all her days in bed and yet all she wanted to do was sleep.

It was a late afternoon. Amelia was curled up under a blanket as she was reading on the couch, listening to the rain that was slowly falling on the windows. She had called Owen a few times already because he was supposed to be home but she couldn't get a hold of him. She wasn't worried though. He probably just got stuck in surgery like he often did.

After about a half an hour, the door to their apartment finally opened and Owen quietly came in. Amelia stopped reading and waited for Owen to come to the living room to greet her like he usually did when he came home. Instead, she heard him walk straight into their bedroom. Her first thought was that something is off. Something was definitely off. "Owen?" She asked, waiting for a response. She didn't get one. She slowly stood up and walked towards the bedroom. What in the world could be happening?

Owen was lying on his side of the bed, already ready for sleep. At least that's how it seemed. Amelia finally came in.

"Owen? Is everything ok?" No response.

Amelia curled up next to him on the bed and lay on her side, so she was facing his back. She would probably get closer but her belly did not allow her to. "Are you sick or something?" She put her hand on his forehead. "No temperature." She still did not get a word out of him but she continued lying on her side, waiting. She waited and she waited, thinking of about a million reasons why he'd be acting this strange. It seemed silly it first but it got her worried. About a thousand options were running through her mind. _Did something happen in the hospital? Did he have an argument with another doctor?_ _No, if that happened, he would be complaining about it. He clearly isn't sick. Is something wrong with him? Like really wrong? But that wouldn't explain why he'd come home late, would it?_ Her predictions were clearly making her mind go insane.

"Owen, is somethi-"

Owen finally decided to speak. "My mother died."

"What?!" Amelia surprisingly asked as she lifted her head from the pillow.

"John called. Said he was working and found her at home on the floor. Lying on the floor to be exact." He swallowed. "Heart attack."

"Owen-"

"It happens. She always had problems with her blood pressure. And she wasn't the youngest person." Coldly said Owen.

Amelia was shocked, angry and sad all at the same time. "Are you-"

"I just want to sleep if you don't mind. It was a… long day."

The light was off so Amelia couldn't see his face but she imagined how it looked right now. His face was probably all wrinkled up from trying not to let it affect him too much. _From trying not to cry._ In a way she understood him. Owen always respected her wishes so the least she could do was to respect his. She put her head down on the pillow and extended her hand around his torso. "I'm sorry."

"Yeah." He exhaled deeply. "So am I."

xxx

As Owen paced down the hospital after his mother's funeral, he felt like all looks were on him. He knew they were. It probably wasn't because of his mother because not everyone knew. Most of the hospital staff wasn't even close to him, it was a big hospital after all. Everybody looked at him ever since he became the chief of surgery and the looks didn't stop when he quit. It never really bothered Owen, he was kind of a "public" figure. And yet today, everything bothered him.

Owen was sad about his mother. It felt natural. He was sad and he admitted that to himself. That wasn't a secret. He was grieving and he knew that. If Owen distanced himself a bit from the whole situation, he could say that his mother died happy. Maybe that sounded a bit morbid but it was true. Evelyn _did_ die happy. She found love, John, and she was so happy with him. Although it took Owen a lot of time to get used to him and never really wanted to show it too much, he liked him. Evelyn also died knowing that her son is ok. More than ok even. Owen found _his person_ and they were having a baby, Evelyn's first grandchild! So it was safe to say that her life was as near as perfect. But she still had a lot in front of her.

xxx

"Hey, mom." Answered Amelia as she was chewing a piece of chocolate in her mouth.

 _"_ _Hello, Amy."_

"Amelia."

 _"_ _Right. I'm calling to catch up a bit, see how things have been going."_

"Fine." Cheerfully said Amelia.

 _"_ _Fine?"_

"Yep. The baby's fine. Owen's fine. I'm fine."

 _"_ _Oh."_

"What?"

 _"_ _Nothing."_

"You said 'oh' right after I said everything is fine so it makes me think you are surprised that we're _all_ doing fine?"

 _"_ _Well, I thought of asking how Owen was dealing in particular but-"_

"He's as fine as he can be for now. So he's… fine." Sighed Amelia, not really wanting to explain anything. She wasn't lying, Owen was fine. It was just a weird fine. She decided to change the topic. "How's everyone in the east coast? I know everybody's sick at Lizzie's."

 _Carolyn, sensing that Amelia did not want to discuss Owen, decided to have a chat with her youngest instead of digging in that topic. It wasn't her to place to dig in, to be honest. "Right. They're all sick, yes. I was just at their house before, I brought them some soup. But besides that nothing special I guess." Shrugged Carolyn. "How is my grandchild number 18 which you refuse to tell me the sex of?"_

Every time when Carolyn proudly mentioned this will be her 18th grandchild, it hurt Amelia's heart because she knew her baby girl was actually going to be the 19th. But she couldn't tell her.

 _"_ _Amelia? Are you there?"_

"Yes. Sorry. Uhm. Well, your grandchild who no one except us knows the gender of is basically making me sleep every minute of every day and kicking like crazy when awake."

 _Carolyn sincerely laughed of excitement. "I'm glad to hear that. Are you sure you don't want me to come-"_

"Mom. I'm sure. You'd have nothing to do, really."

 _"_ _Oh, just wait and see till that baby pops out and you'll want me to come over and maybe change a diaper."_

"Ha." Laughed Amelia. "Never said I won't want you then."

 _"_ _Your ability on how to respond to everything and everyone never seized to amaze me."_

"Heard that one already. According to my friends in LA I have no filter."

 _Carolyn laughed and wanted to say something._

Amelia heard the doorbell ring and yelled to the person to come in. "Hey mom, I have to go. I think Meredith is here with the kids. I'll call you, ok?"

 _"_ _Of course. Kiss my three musketeers and tell Meredith I said hi. Bye."_

"Bye bye." Said Amelia as she hung up with her mother and already greeted Meredith, Zola and Ellis who came in. Zola was holding a diaper bag, full of Ellis's things while Meredith was holding her youngest' hands, helping her walk clumsily. "Hi, girls. Where's Bailey hiding?"

"He's at a friend's birthday party." Answered Meredith, putting Ellie on the couch beside Amelia and taking the bag from Zola.

"And you're almost walking! You are growing up too fast my lady." Said Amelia to her younger niece who smiled at her aunt's words and babbled something back.

"I know, it's scary. She's so fast with… everything! Bailey and Zola were both past one year when they started walking and this one is not even 10 months old and doing everything." Stated Meredith with a terrified tone.

Amelia played pic-a-boo with Ellis a bit and then casually asked Meredith if she saw Owen in the hospital today.

"Yeah, there was a big accident so he was his usual bossy self down in the ER."

"So he was… I mean, nothing unusual?"

"Uhm… no? Why?"

"Just asking. He seems to be acting too normal, you know? Like he isn't even sad or anything."

That's when Zola jumped in the conversation she was carefully listening to. "Maybe he is sad but he's smiling cause his mama told him to. I always smile because daddy liked it when I smiled."

Meredith and Amelia both stared at the little girl that spoke those words so innocently, yet she broke Meredith and Amelia's heart when she said that.

"Yeah, Zo… Maybe…" answered Amelia with an incredibly quite voice.

Zola observed her mom and her aunt who were looking to the ground, exchanging some looks and again looking to the ground, then looking at Ellis and her. She did not understand what exactly was happening but she knew that something felt weird. She could feel it. "Daddy also did not like it when people were grumpy." Zola went over to Amelia and kissed her on the cheek but before that she explained: "Trust me, this works. He told me." She then went to Meredith, kissed her and then sat on her lap.

Meredith immediately put her hands around her incredibly sensible daughter and tightly hugged her. Between the three of them and a mini female version of Derek, no more words were needed.

xxx

Amelia gave Zola's words a lot of thought, wondering if what she said were "true words of wisdom" or just a child's perspective on everything that happens after death. She couldn't decide what was true. But maybe that was the point. Maybe nothing was too true or too untrue about it. Maybe she just had to find the golden middle. Maybe that was the truth about it.

xxx

Amelia was exactly 37 weeks pregnant. She could not believe it. 37 weeks meant a full term carried baby. 37 was a safe number. 37 was good. 4 more days separated the couple from meeting their baby girl. A C-section was scheduled like planed because a vaginal delivery would be too risky. They have known the birthday of their daughter for a few weeks now. They were more than prepared. They were so ready. Both Amelia and Owen were cheerfully counting down the last few days. Well, not too cheerfully because they did not want anyone to know about when the baby is being delivered. They kept that a secret as well as the gender because they did not want full drama as they were already expecting it on the day their daughter would be born and the feminist in both of them kept the gender a secret because a boom of pink baby dresses was definitely a no. It seemed like everything was going according to the plan.

Amelia gave Owen all the space and time he needed. The least she could was not to meddle in his grieving process. It's not like it was disturbing or harming like Amelia's almost was. It was normal, so she decided to let it go with the flow. There was just this thing that disturbed her. Everything was too normal and too peaceful. Amelia wasn't asking for some drama or tragedy, she had enough of that for a lifetime. But she missed the little fights. The exchange of opinions. The small arguments that ended in figuring something out. Amelia even blamed herself because she was actually really filtering, probably for the first time in her life. Lately, their relationship just seemed too polite.

"Ames?"

"Yeah?"

"Have you seen my blue T-shirt?" asked Owen while he was walking up and down their apartment, trying to find the shirt.

Amelia mischievously smiled. "Maybe I have, maybe I haven't."

Owen smirked as he walked into the bedroom and saw his shirt right beside her. "So we're playing that game?"

"Nah. We're playing the game where you look better without a T-shirt."

Owen sat down beside Amelia, put his arms around her and naughtily added. "I think we'll have to postpone that game for a few weeks."

"Perv." Laughed Amelia as she was enjoying his embrace. After the laughing and some exchange of looks silence filled the room. It wasn't an awkward silence but it also wasn't a calming one. It was a polite silence and Amelia couldn't take it anymore. "Can we talk?"

"Sure. What do you want to talk about?"

"Us. The baby. Your mom. My mom. Everything, yet nothing. Life. I don't know…"

"Ok?" Owen clearly did not know in which way she wanted to lead this conversation to.

After the awkward silence, Amelia decided to take full control of the conversation. She let go of his embrace and sat straight up so they were facing each other. "This" Amelia waved her hands around Owen and herself "is what I want to talk about. When did we get so… I don't even know. Polite? Boring? Like an old couple? A lot of things happened in the last few months and of course it affected us, it's supposed to. But it's like… After Derek and even before when we were arguing we were… well, arguing. We spoke more to each other like we do now."

"Maybe we just get along more?" suggested Owen.

"Oh, please, you and I will never get along that well." Owen wrinkled his head while listening to Amelia's words. "I mean, we do get along but come on, we're kind of a perfectly messed up couple. If I were an outsider, I'd totally ship us."

"Ship us?"

"Forget it, I started watching way too many tv shows since I'm on bed rest. Anyways. Why do we never fight anymore? And not fight _fight_. I mean the little things where I say a thing and then you say a thing and then a day passes by and we realize we just spent the whole day discussing something and the feeling is amazing. And we go to bed, thinking we'll teach our daughter to always have an opinion, to think with her head, to see different points of view."

"And then we'd joke about how philosophical and articulate we are." Added Owen, knowing where Amelia was coming from. "You know, we're always together but I miss you."

Amelia tried to smile because she was glad they were on the same page but the baby kicked her so hard, she put on a face looking like somewhere between happiness, pain and surprise.

"You ok?"

"Yeah." Smiled Amelia. "I think she disagrees, she already has an opinion about everything."

Owen smiled and then seemed to be thoughtful for a while. "You know what my mom said to me the day before she died when we were talking on the phone?"

"What?"

"She told me that our baby already has an opinion because she did not want to stay inside you any longer. According to her our girl just wanted to come out and tell everyone everything."

Amelia smiled at what he said and imagined her late mother-in-law saying those words. "I just realized that our poor kid probably has it written in her genes to be without filter and always tell everyone whatever comes to her mind. Your mom was also like that and I remember my dad being like that as well."

"Like we're that shy and quiet." Teasingly added Owen.

"True." Smirked Amelia.

"I love you."

Amelia put her hand on her stomach as her daughter made her clench her teeth. "I'd say I love you too- but I think we should get to the hospital before." Said Amelia and then their blue eyes met in confusion and fear.

xxx

O-oh. Does this mean trouble or complications for the baby or Amelia? Find out in the last chapter.


	16. Chapter 16

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand... *drums* ...here it is! The final chapter of _Take my hand._ I hope you'll like the ending. It's short in comparison to the other chapters and I could fit it in with the previous one but I decided to leave you waiting a bit. ;)

Read through the end, I have a "surprise" for you. :)

xxx

Everything was blurry, although there was more darkness than light from what she could see. Amelia could hear someone talking but the talking seemed to be happening somewhere far away because she couldn't understand the words clearly. There were some weird sounds and her head was pounding. Every noise she heard and every piece of light that was brightening up the darkness seemed confusing. Her whole body felt tingly and weird. She could feel every part of her body, yet moving her fingers appeared more exhausting than she would have ever thought.

Amelia's vision and hearing was slowly getting normal. She could see a white ceiling above her and a light that seemed too strong for her to look at. The voices were getting louder and more understandable. Someone was calling her name. At first she got kind of scared of it but the male voice was very soothing. She could recognize this voice anywhere. It was Owen. Owen was calling her name. As she gained more and more vision, she could finally see clearly, although her eyelids were barely opened. The tingly feeling was slowly getting away and she was more than happy to finally move a bit. It was just her head and her hands but in that moment it felt surreal. Amelia moved her hands, realizing she had an IV in one of them. She looked at Owen, who was looking at her with concern and love at the same time.

"Amelia? Hey. Are you awake?"

She moved her head to the right and left, realizing she was in a hospital room. She slowly nodded her head. "Mhm."

Owen leaned over her and kissed her forehead.

She put a little smile on her face that did not last long. Her hands instinctively went over her belly and she frowned, more in horror than anything else because she could not feel it. "Owen!" She said, terrified. "The baby?"

"Look to your right." Said Owen with a proud face he could not hide. "Exactly 10 pounds. 51 centimeters. She's a big girl for a 37-weeker."

Amelia shifted her head to her right like Owen instructed her. She could see a small bed with a baby covered with a white blanket and with a pink hat with a write stripe on it. Her mouth opened at the little person beside her. Amelia could not believe that it was _her._ It was _their_ daughter and although her colour was still somewhere between white, blue and pink, she was the most beautiful baby she has ever seen in her life. She knew that parents always said that but it was true.

Owen took their newborn daughter from her crib and gently rocked her in his hands. "Hi, baby girl, are you ready to finally meet mommy?" He smiled at the little bundle that yawned in his hands. "Are you ok to hold her?" He considerately asked Amelia who just had a C-section.

She couldn't help but smile and let out a couple of tears. Well, a lot. "More than ok." She stretched out her hands and _finally_ got to hold her daughter in her hands. "Owen, she's..."

They were both speechless. "I know." Nodded Owen.

Amelia did not realize she was still crying until a tear landed on the baby's face, making her twitch. "She's amazing and I'm crying all over her. I'm a mess." Laughed Amelia amid wiping her tears and awkwardly laughing.

"You and me both. Don't you think I used my time when you were asleep to cry all over her?" Laughed Owen as he added his statement.

Amelia laughed back, gently caressed her daughter's cheeks and observed her like she was sacred. "She has my hair." Added the brunette, noticing the baby's hair that was sticking out of the hat.

"She does." Smiled Owen.

"She needs a name." suddenly said Amelia.

"I thought we agreed on Macey?"

"Yeah. And that is her name but I was thinking of a middle name." Amelia moved her gaze from Owen to Macey who was peacefully sleeping in Amelia's hands. "Her middle name is Eva, definitely."

"Eva?"

"Eva. Kind of short for Evelyn. I know we said we're not naming her after anyone we know but-" Macey somehow managed to get one hand out of the blanket and made a thumb up. Owen who was surprised and flattered at the same time looked at Amelia who returned the look after she smiled at her daughter. "-she already has an opinion, see?"

Owen agreed with everything Amelia has said but it definitely took him by surprise. He just chuckled and nodded in response. He took Amelia's hand and protectively put the other on their daughter's head. "Macey Eva."

 **\- THE END -**

 **I'd like to continue writing stories about the new family. From now on, I am also glad to receive any suggestions for future fanfic about the Shepherd-Hunt family. So if you have any wishes, private message me and if I am able to find some inspiration and write a story about it, I'll be happy to do it. I won't tell or write who sent in the request, except if you want me to.**


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